Never Forget
by Iknowyoulovemexoxo
Summary: They went to college for an education, they didn't expect that education to be in love and separation. Can they apply the lessons they learned as they move forward in life?
1. Chapter 1

A couple of stories are coming to an end so I thought now would be a good time to start a new one but I want to say a quick thank you to **levesque fan forever** for all of her help with this, I definitely wouldn't have gotten this far so quickly without her. I hope you all enjoy the story but as always follows/favourites/reviews are always appreciated :)

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The alcohol was flowing all around him as Paul sat in the booth bouncing his leg along with thumping beat of the music reverberating beneath his feet. He didn't even know how many people were in their group altogether now because initially it had begun with him and his best friend going out with a couple of their friends to celebrate the end of the first year of College and it had just multiplied and multiplied, so much so that he was sure they were taking up half of the club at this point.

Taking another sip of his beer his eyes drifted to the dance floor watching Stephanie as she tipped her head back in laughter at something one of the girls around her had said. Letting his eyes wander down her body he licked his lips as he looked at her bare legs, he could only imagine how good they would feel wrapped around his waist, he didn't care that she was his best friend, he just wanted her. His attention was taken away from Stephanie when one of the guys from his course took a seat beside him and began to engage him in conversation about what he thought they'd study the following year.

Out on the dance floor Stephanie was having fun dancing and laughing with friends but looking back at Paul sat in the booth she wished he would have accepted her invitation to dance instead of brushing her off with 'I don't dance'. After who knows how many songs her feet were starting to ache and her throat was dry so she made her way back to the booth taking the seat that was vacated by Mike, or something, as he was dragged off by his girlfriend.

Sitting down she took Paul's beer from his hand and had a drink before she placed it back in his hand, "Having fun being a party pooper sat here all by yourself?"

Raising his eyebrow as he looked at her he shook his head, "Having fun stealing somebody else's drink?"

Shrugging she gave him the smile that he could never resist, "I was thirsty, your drink was just there. You know you never answered my question."

Tipping his head back he finished off his beer failing to notice Stephanie's eyes on his Adam's apple as it bobbed up and down with each swallow he took.

Placing the empty bottle back on the table he raked his fingers through his hair, "You know I don't dance so I don't know why you bother trying to make me."

"Because you should, it's a fun way to burn calories and you know with me you'll forget all about whether you can or can't dance."

Snorting he shook his head, "Lamest excuse ever. Sex is a far more fun way to burn calories so are you offering yourself up for that too?"

Blushing a deep shade of red at his comment she ducked her head and pretended to massage her sore feet so he wouldn't see the colour of her face.

He didn't think before he spoke and he surprised himself by what he had said but the fact that she hadn't slapped him or something equally as bad wasn't a bad sign but the fact that he could quickly change the subject wasn't a bad thing either, "What's wrong with your feet?"

Not daring to look up at him yet she kept rubbing them, "Too much dancing in high heels, they hurt."

Moving down the booth a little so there was a gap between them he patted his lap, "Shoes off and put your feet up here and I'll give them a massage."

Slowly raising he head she realised that he was serious so kicked off her shoes and turned in the seat so she could put her feet on his lap whilst retaining her modesty, "You know you're the best friend a girl could ask for right?"

Rolling his eyes he shook his head fed up of being friend zoned by her when he wanted her so much, "Yeah yeah yeah, women never date 'best friends' though so it isn't exactly the highest of compliments you could pay me."

Wincing at his comment she was beginning to think that their friendship was about to come burning to the ground unless she did something about it she went to pull her feet from his lap, "Sorry."

Holding her feet before she could pull them off his lap he sighed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."

The air around the two of them was now ice cold and and silent despite the amount of people in the building and the thumping bass of the music that shook the booth and made it difficult to hear anything.

As soon as he had finished massaging her feet he removed his hands, "There you go, hopefully you have a few more good hours of dancing in you tonight."

Removing her feet from his lap she slipped them back into her shoes, "Thanks." Standing up she made her way over to the bar and ordered his favourite beer and took it back to the table placing it in front of him, "That's to say sorry for drinking your other one and to say thank you for the massage."

Before he could even finish processing what she had said she had left and was back on the dance floor.

Walking back towards the dance floor she hooked her arm through one of her friends' and dragged her with he, "Dance with me."

Stumbling behind her friend she very nearly went face first onto the floor, "What happened with Paul?"

"Don't ask, just dance."

Putting her hands up in surrender she knew when to drop a subject and judging by the look on Stephanie's face now was that time so she just started dancing with her.

Watching Stephanie on the dance floor he may have not been friends with her for years but he already knew her body language and right now he knew he was in deep shit with her. Downing his beer he slid out of the booth and prepared to do the one thing he absolutely hated doing, dancing.

Making his way over to her he slid his arm around her waist, "Room for a small one."

The second she felt a hand on her body she prepared to do some serious self defence moves and teach the sleaze a lesson but luckily before she did he spoke and she realised it was Paul. Stiffening slightly she turned around to face him, "I thought you hated dancing and preferred burning calories by having sex."

Wincing at the coldness he didn't know what to do with himself, "Okay so I may have opened my mouth and not entirely thought through the outcome of the words I spoke and I'm sorry for that."

"You have a lot to be sorry for tonight Paul, you have acted more like an asshole than you have a gentleman."

Frowning he didn't know how to make things better, "I'm sorry okay? I don't know what else I can say."

Turning her back to him she just didn't want to deal with him right now.

The friend who had been dancing with Stephanie turned her attention to Paul and grabbed his arm before he could leave, "Don't give up on her just yet."

Against his better judgement he stuck around and 'danced' with the mutual friend.

Giving Paul time to leave she turned around to dance with her friend when she saw a guy beginning to approach her as the end of the song neared and frowned when she saw Paul was still there but she wasn't turning back around just incase the guy bothered her but unfortunately she couldn't even escape the creep with her back to him as he touched her shoulder, "Care to dance with me beautiful?"

Resisting the urge to gag at the smell of his aftershave she tried to shake him off her, "Actually I don't, I'm having fun here."

Refusing to take no for an answer as the next song began to play and it was a slow song he stepped closer, "Aww come on, the three of you can't dance to a slow song together."

She may have been mad at Paul but she knew that he would protect her so she grabbed his arm and pulled him close, "Maybe not but he promised me the next slow dance and I'm not turning him down to gag whilst dancing with you."

Slipping his arm around Stephanie's waist he held her close wanting to protect her, "Back off or we will have a problem and you do **not** want to get on my bad side tonight."

Watching the guy leave Paul wasn't sure what to do now, "He's gone, I'll get off you now."

Quickly putting her hand behind her back and over his she pressed it into her back, "Don't, it's okay. I'm sorry for being a bitch, I just didn't know how to deal with what you were saying."

Closing his eyes and resting his head on hers as she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest the words were out of his mouth before he thought them through, "The alcohol loosened my tongue, I was a bit more honest than I should have been."

She didn't want to move her head as she felt so comfortable but that was a revelation so reluctantly she did so she could look at him, "You what? What do you mean?"

It was the end of the first year, he wasn't going to see her for months so he may aswell just get it over with, "I can't have this conversation here, come back to the apartment with me and we'll talk there."

Resting her head back on his chest she was not letting him get out of it that easily, "After this song."

Laughing he rested his head on the top of hers, he would expect nothing less.

As soon as the song had ended Paul pulled away from her, "Shall we go back to the apartment now?"

Slipping her hand into his she held it tightly and nodded her head, "Yes."

Leading her out of the club the two of them walked back to the apartment silently and soon found themselves sat on the couch together with Stephanie the first to break the silence, "You said you couldn't have the conversation at the club so exactly what conversation are we having?"

Turning to face her he knew this could go one of two ways and he was worried, "So the alcohol loosened my tongue and I was a little too honest with you earlier." Opening his mouth he went to comment on something specifically but decided to skip over that part as it wouldn't sound right he went straight for the end, "When I snapped at you over calling me your best friend it was because I . . . uh . . . I like you as more than a 'best friend' and it just angered me because I know that once you are put in the 'friend zone' you will not get out of it and it just brought reality home to me that this was one sided."

Confused she rubbed her temples before she turned to face him, "Slightly confused here. What are you trying to say to me?"

Groaning this was hard enough as it was, "I like you. Please don't make me spell it out for you, this is hard enough as it is."

Replaying the events of the night and their conversations one specific part jumped out at her, "So if I were to say that when you asked if I was offering myself up for sex it was because you would like that to happen would I be hot or cold?"

"Hot, very very hot."

Breathing a sigh of relief she leant forward and pressed a passionate kiss to his lips and blindly found her way so she was now straddling his lap.

Groaning into her mouth as he felt her straddling his lap his hands found their way to her legs stroking the bare skin as their kiss got deeper and their tongues started to do battle.

Shifting on his lap her hands moved to his chest to undo the buttons on his shirt but instead she pulled back from the kiss and moved off his lap standing up and straightening her skirt out, "We can't do this, anybody could walk in."

Lost he shook his head to clear the fog from his brain as he tried to process it all, "Wait, what? Don't you want this?"

Turning back to face him she smiled softly, "I want this but I don't want to get caught and for people to talk so maybe we shouldn't."

Standing up he took hold of her hand and began to lead her towards his bedroom, "I have a lock on my bedroom door and they're used to you staying in my room anyway so they won't think anything of it."

Stopping in the hallway she forced him to turn to face her and when he did she slid her free hand around his neck and pulled his face close, "You think of everything."

Pressing her lips to his she closed her eyes as he deepened the kiss before he pulled away taking both of her hands in his and walked backwards until they entered his room at which point he promptly shut and locked the door so they couldn't be disturbed.

Being in his bedroom on this occasion was so different, so strange, she was used to just hanging out but this was far from just 'hanging out'.

Walking closer to her Paul's hands immediately went to the zip on her dress and pulled it down before his hands moved to the straps on her shoulders and his lips moved to her ear, "Say now if you have had second thoughts."

Turning her head to look into his eyes all fears she had disappeared as her desire for him took over, "No second thoughts."

Relief washed over him hearing her say that she wasn't having second thoughts so he didn't waste time and pushed the straps down her arms, "Good."

As her dress hit the floor she quickly stepped out of it at the same time kicking her heels off before she faced him blushing at the way he was looking at her now topless body, "Stop staring and start stripping."

"Make me."

That was one challenge she was more than happy to accept so kicking her dress to the side so she didn't ruin it by standing on it she stood in front of him with her hands immediately going straight to the collar of his shirt pulling him closer to her, "Don't worry I will."

As their lips fused together and her hands started working on the buttons of his shirt he used the time to run his hands up and down her sides with neither thinking of what would happen tomorrow when they were both sober, they were just enjoying the here and the now.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the incredible reaction to the first chapter, I wasn't expecting it at all so I hope you all enjoy this second chapter :)

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The next morning Stephanie awoke with the sun in her eyes and tangled in a sheet as her head lay on his chest. Burying her head further into his chest she had a dull headache and the sun was really getting on her nerves.

Paul had been awake for a while, he was enjoying the feel of her leg draped over his clutching him tightly and her head on his chest, it felt being right here right now in that moment with her and he really didn't want her to wake up. When he felt her moving he knew that she was awake and they would have to face the day so he gently trailed his hand up and down her bare back, "You okay?"

Realising that he was awake also she slowly raised her head to look at him, "I'm comfortable, does that count?"

Laughing he nodded his head, "Sure." He was going to play it cool but after an hour of his mind racing he had to get this over with, "Do you want to go out and grab some breakfast together and talk?"

Moving her leg from over his she untangled herself from the sheet so she could roll over onto her stomach and look up at him, "I am not doing the walk of shame and going out in last nights clothes."

"Then we'll swing by your place first and you can shower and change."

Sighing she lay her head back down, "You really want to talk huh?"

Confused he nodded his head, "Don't you think we need to? We did sleep together last night."

When he put it like that he had a point so she sat up clutching the sheet to her chest, "How about you go and shower and I'll go home and shower and change and you can pick me up when you're ready."

"Promise you won't skip the country?"

Smacking his chest she glared at him, "Seriously?"

Sitting up he slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her bare shoulder, "Sorry, I just wanted to lighten the mood a little as you were looking very serious."

Closing her eyes she reluctantly slid out of bed to get dressed not caring that he was watching her every move, "I will see you soon."

Was she mad at him? Confused, frustrated, nervous, there were so many emotions and he didn't want to lose her, "Steph I'm sorry if I offended you okay?"

Pulling up the zip on her dress she slipped her feet into her shoes, "I'm not mad or offended, I'm hungry and want to take some painkillers to kill this headache before it takes hold completely."

Hopeful his eyes widened a little, "Promise?"

Walking over to him she couldn't help but lean down and kiss him softly, "I promise. Don't keep me waiting."

Smacking her ass as she turned around to walk away he laughed at the playful glare he got in return, "Don't worry I won't."

Unlocking the door Stephanie headed out of his bedroom to leave the apartment to go back to her own grateful that everybody else was sound asleep still so nobody saw her.

Forty five minutes later and the two of them were sat in a Waffle House waiting for their food to be ready.

Stephanie was playing with her waffle when she eventually had it in front of her, there was so much to discuss and she didn't even know where they began, "What now?"

Spearing some waffle with his fork he raised it to put in his mouth but paused halfway there when she said that, "I don't know. I like you a lot but now we are going to be separated all summer aren't we? I mean I have to go to California in ten days for a meeting and I am sure you have your own plans this summer."

Her mind drifted to her plans for the summer, interning at the family business, "I have an internship for the summer so I am going to be busy."

Paul felt his heart sink, he hadn't expected her to go with him but he had some hope in the bottom of his heart, "Well if you are busy then we shouldn't hurry into making any decisions that tie us together."

"I agree, I don't want either of us to get hurt by committing to a relationship but I do have an idea."

Chewing on the piece of waffle he had just taken he swallowed it slowly not entirely sure he wanted to hear it because the look in her eye made him nervous, "Umm, you do?"

Seeing the look in his eyes made her nervous to say this, she didn't even know why she was going to suggest it, "We could be friends with benefits? I don't want to commit to a relationship right now so it could just be a case of scratching an itch and not ruining our friendship at all? We can talk again next semester when the year starts but right now when there is very little time until we separate it seems the wisest decision to make."

He was shocked that that sort of idea had come from her but it did make sense, "Would you **want** to do that though? I don't want you to feel like you **have** to do something like that if you don't want to."

Blushing she looked down at the table unable to meet his gaze, "I had fun last night and you're my best friend so it's a win/win situation in my book."

Shrugging his shoulders he wasn't crazy, "Sounds good to me then. If at any point over the next week you're not happy just say so."

Lifting his head she smiled softly, "Don't worry, I will."

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence enjoying their breakfast.

Over the next week the two of them hung out as they had already planned to do and of an evening they occasionally slept together, no strings attached but they both individually felt there was more to it.

Paul told Stephanie that he would find his own way to the airport but Stephanie had insisted that she dropped him off so after making sure that all of his stuff had been sent to his parent's he was sat outside of his apartment waiting for Stephanie's arrival. Seeing her car pull up full of her stuff he shook his head as he reached the passenger door, "There is no room for me."

Rolling her eyes at him she pressed her lips together, "Shut up, you're not that fat."

Laughing he threw his bags in the back and climbed in, "You're the best, you know that right?"

As she looked over into his eyes she saw something else there, "I do. Let's get you to the airport so you can catch your flight for your meeting. What is it about anyway?"

He didn't want to tell her the truth because it might mean that come the end of their college life he would be moving to California and he didn't know what her plans were so he decided to just tell her some of the truth, "I'm looking at getting an internship after college so I thought during the summer after my first year I would take the time to do some research and talk to some people to see what I need."

Looking over at him as they stopped at some lights she was confused, "So you're moving to California after College ends?"

Shrugging his shoulders he tried to play it off, "Maybe. I'm looking at my options right now, I haven't decided anything so I'll just see what is available to me."

Silence fell over the two of them for the rest of the journey before she pulled up outside the airport, "Have a safe flight and text me to let me know you got there safely okay?"

Leaning across he kissed her cheek, "Will do beautiful. I will speak to you soon though, you don't get away from me that easily."

Laughing she watched him grab his bags from the back, "I should hope not because some best friend you would be if you disappeared on me."

Sticking his tongue out at her he walked around the car leaning on the top of it, "Have a good summer."

Waiting for him to enter the airport she finally pulled off and headed towards her home for the summer.

Running her fingers through her hair she smiled as the receptionist answered the phone, "Good morning you have reached McMahon Enterprises, where can I direct your call?" She always knew that she would work here one day even when her Dad didn't believe her so she was happy that she was going to finally get the chance to prove herself to him. Slipping into an elevator before the doors shut she hit the button for the top floor as she wanted to find out what she was going to be doing for the summer.

Leaning on the door frame she watched her Dad pass out instructions before he turned his attention to her, "Stand up straight."

Laughing she stood up tall before she walked over to him and hugged him, "Hi Daddy."

Vince hugged his daughter back, "Hi. Are you back home now?"

Rolling her eyes she shook her head, "For the summer. I told you that as soon as College was over I would come back to work here for the summer."

"Yes and you will be living at home. I still don't understand why you moved out? The campus is thirty minutes away from here, you could have commuted every day."

Pulling away from the hug she took a seat in front of his desk, "And I told you I wanted the entire College experience Dad. If I hadn't have been living on Campus, or technically near it, I wouldn't have met half of the people I did and I wouldn't have had half as much fun. We have had this discussion over and over though so why don't you just tell me what I am doing for the summer."

He wanted to test his daughter's commitment and her work ethic, "You will be following me for the summer. You will be sitting in on all of my meetings, you will be taking notes and afterwards I want to hear your take on what happened and what you suggest for the future."

Her eyes widened with excitement, "This is going to be the best summer ever. Thank you Dad."

Vince was taken back by her excitement, "You're . . . welcome?"

"Can I start this afternoon please? I know I am not entirely dressed the part but I can hurry home and be back here in like an hour or something."

Waving his hand dismissively he was too busy to care, "Whatever you want, I have paperwork to do."

Getting up from her seat Stephanie all but ran from the room, this was the time where she could prove herself to her Dad.

It was the end of her first full day working with her Dad and she couldn't help but miss Paul, it was so much deeper than sex and sleeping with him had just made her feelings for him worse.

Sighing heavily as she scrolled up and down her contacts she kept stopping over his name before she finally plucked up the courage to call him.

Sat in front of three forms Paul knew he should fill them in but it was daunting so he was staring at them half hoping that the longer he stared the more chance that they would fill themselves in. He was just about to pick the pen up to start when his phone started ringing and when he saw the name on the screen he couldn't help but feel like it was some sign that this was wrong, "Yo Steph."

Spluttering on the sip of soda she had just taken he had never spoken to her like that before, "Excuse you? Since when do you say 'yo'?"

Laughing he kicked back with a smile on his face, "Since so many people keep saying 'yo' to me for reasons I haven't figured out. Are you missing me already?"

"Eh, I wouldn't go **that** far but as my best friend I felt that it was my duty to make sure you are still alive. How are things going? Are you making any progress?"

Picking up the pen he began to twirl it in his fingers, "I am sat in front of three forms they want me to fill in but I haven't started yet. How is your summer going?"

She was not letting him change the subject, "No you don't, we won't talk about me until I am done with you. Why haven't you started filling them in yet? Don't you realise how many people will be vying for that place?"

Groaning he should have known, "Ugh, you are worse than a girlfriend . . . but I still love ya. This is huge though, if I get this then it means that I will have to move here at some point and it is so far away from home."

"But think about the fact that you will be able to do something you love and something you have worked for. Your family can visit you and you can visit them sometimes and there is such a thing as a phone and Skype so it won't be too bad."

Frowning he didn't like it when she spoke sense like that, "I wanted this so much but the reality was so different but I guess you're right. Thanks Steph, you're the best. So now about you."

Smiling it definitely felt good talking to him and helping him, "My summer is going to be epic. I am shadowing my Dad for the entire summer so I am going to learn so much from him. Don't get me wrong he is an absolute nightmare to work with but it will be worth it."

Shaking his head he began to fill in the front page of the first form, "And you have only worked with him one day. Please retain your sanity for next year, I kind of like having you around."

"I kind of like having you around too. Is it wrong to say that I miss you?"

He almost made a complete mess of the page when she said that but the truth was he missed her too, "Not really because I miss you. If we're in the same city at any point during the summer we should hook up, I don't mean like that. I will keep you updated of my whereabouts and we can see what we can arrange."

Smiling softly that sounded good to her, "Thanks Paul. I will let you get back to your forms but good luck, I know they will love you."

"How could they not?"

Laughing she rolled her eyes, "Shut up."

"Bye Steph."

Sighing softly she moved over to her window, "Bye Paul."

Ending the call he put his phone back on the desk and began to scribble away on the form because he had more meetings and probably more forms to fill in over the coming days.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a couple of days before classes started again and Stephanie was moving into her new apartment for the year and she knew somewhere in this town Paul was moving into his too.

The two of them had hooked up twice in New York over the summer and when she had spoken to him last night he had been vague about where he was going to be living but had promised to visit her when he was settled in. Grabbing another box from her car she almost jumped out of her skin when a car pulling in behind her honked their horn, turning around to give them the finger she shook her head and gave the driver the finger and for extra measure she kicked the tyre as she walked by.

Hopping out of the car Paul slammed the door shut and ran around the car and leant against it, "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Turning around in the doorway she glared at him, "Maybe. What are you doing here?"

"Well I am waiting for the truck with my stuff to arrive so I can move into my apartment."

Moving out of the doorway as she moved closer to him as she was confused, "Then shouldn't you be at your apartment?"

Shrugging nonchalantly he wanted to act cool, "I will be in like a minute but I will see if the truck arrives. Did I not tell you that I will be living across the road from you?"

She wasn't sure whether to slap him or hug him, "Really?!"

"Yes. I pulled some strings and swapped apartments with this guy whose room-mates were my friends and who hated him so we could be closer."

Her arms were starting to hurt from holding the box so when two men came bounding across the road and practically tackled Paul to the ground she took that as her opportunity to continue unpacking, "I'll catch you later Paul." Laughing as all he managed was a brief wave she headed inside.

An hour later and she was done taking her boxes inside and unpacking the necessary items so she decided to take a break to see how Paul was doing so heading across the road to where he was unloading the truck she hopped up and sat on the back of it, "Do you want any help?"

Shaking his head as he made a neat line of boxes he took a moment to rest and sat beside her, "So how come you have such little stuff?"

Shrugging her shoulders she wasn't sure, "I travel light and pack well maybe. What is in all of your boxes anyway?"

"Stuff for the kitchen, my Mom insisted on giving me food because she doesn't think I can buy food for myself like an adult and just some books and some art stuff."

Climbing down from the truck she turned to grab a box, "Let me help you with these seeing as your so call friends have ditched you."

Laughing he moved to grab one of the lighter boxes for her, "You say ditch, they say productively work on other things and I say prioritising setting up the Playstation but they're great guys really, I think you will like them."

Following him inside she doubted that as normally she didn't get on well with gamers but she would leave her mind open.

Leading Stephanie through to the kitchen Paul put his box on the floor before Stephanie stacked her box on top, "Do you want to meet them?"

"Sure, I guess."

Taking her hand he lead her through to the lounge where there were two boys sat on the floor going through a box of games, "Sean, Scott, this is Stephanie, Stephanie this is Sean with black hair and Scott with longer hair."

Smiling politely at the two of them she didn't see them as gamers, "Nice to meet the two of you. What are you studying?"

Sean moved from the floor and knelt on the back of the couch staring at her, "Wait, this is the best friend? How the hell did you get a hot best friend? Have you looked at yourself lately Paul?"

Paul laughed and playfully punched Sean, "Shut up douche. They both study art with me, Scott wants to design the graphics in video games so likes playing them to get ideas from some and point out the flaws in others and Sean wants to design the graphics in comics."

As she looked at the two men she realised they were nothing like she expected, "Well it is nice to meet the two of you, I promise I won't be around here to bother you too much."

Scott finally spoke for the first time, "I don't mind, from what Paul has said about you you're nice so you're always welcome."

Moving back to the floor Sean grabbed one of the games and smacked Scott in the arm with it, "Do you have to be so polite? Can't you hit on her like a normal person?"

"She clearly has eyes for Paul only so what's the point? She might have some hot friends she can introduce us to though so stop being a douche bag and then she might put a good word in for you."

Rolling his eyes Paul led her out of the room, "I am so sorry about the two of them, they take some getting used to."

Leaning against the wall she actually liked them, "Don't be sorry, I actually like them as they are. Maybe the three of you guys would like to come out with me and the girls tonight? We're going out for pizza and then to a bar for a quiet drink, I'm sure the girls won't mind some extra company so if you want to come you're welcome to join us. I'm going to grab something to eat though so just text me to know if you want to come and I'll let you know the time."

"Thanks Steph."

Hugging him quickly she smiled, "You're welcome."

Waiting until Stephanie left Paul then went back into the lounge, "Surprisingly Stephanie likes you and she has invited us all out with her and her room mates for pizza and then a quiet drink tonight. Can the two of you drag yourselves away from mocking video games for one night to be sociable or are you going to stay here?"

Sean looked at Paul like he was crazy, "Are you nuts? If they're half as hot as her they will be smoking so I'm in."

"Me too, I will be nicer about the women than he has been though."

Before World War 3 broke out Paul put his hands up, "Yes yes, we all know the two of you have different styles to woo the lady so just be quiet and get on tonight for my sake."

Storming out of the room he had boxes to move and then a shower to take before he could even contemplate going out in public so he needed to work faster.

A few hours later and the girls were dressed casually in jeans and pretty tops and some heels waiting for the boys to pick them up, "Are you sure they're good guys Steph?"

Smiling sheepishly she couldn't be certain, "Well I only met them once but they're a bit goofy and seem like they'll be fun to be around and Paul is definitely going to keep them in line so does that count?"

Shrugging off the looks on their faces that said they weren't convinced she motioned to the door, "Come on, we'll meet them there as they're taking too long."

The girls left their apartment and made their way towards the pizza parlour whilst the boys were inside their apartment arguing, "Sean get your fat ass out of the bathroom."

Paul groaned and walked out of his room and banged on the bathroom door, "Get out so Scott can get in because I am leaving in ten minutes with or without you both."

The door swung open and Sean stormed out less than impressed with Paul.

Twenty minutes later and Paul smiled at Stephanie as they reached them, "Hey you."

Walking over to her best friend she hugged him, "Hey you. Paul you remember the girls but Emily and Sasha meet Sean and Scott."

Sending a warning glare to his friends he then turned his attention to Stephanie and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "So are we getting individual pizzas or sharing one or two?"

After getting to know each other over pizza the six of them moved on to a bar and were having some drinks. Everything was going well and they were all having a good time when a lady approached the table and put her hand on Paul's shoulder, "Do you want to dance with me?"

Blinking confused he looked around the table before he looked at the woman, "Who? Me?"

Moving around so he could see all of her she nodded her head, "Yes you. It's pretty obvious you're not seeing any of the women on this table so why not?"

"Uh . . . umm . . ." It was true that he wasn't actually with Stephanie and they were only friends with benefits so it wasn't like he would be cheating on her, "I don't really dance but sure, one dance." Getting up from his seat and making his way onto the small dance floor he failed to see the pain on Stephanie's face.

Looking down at the table Stephanie slid her hand around her glass and picked it up downing the rest of it in one, "I need to do a couple of things so I'm going to head back to the apartment."

Emily and Sasha exchanged knowing glances before they looked at her, "We'll come with you."

That was the very last thing that Stephanie wanted to deal with right now as she wanted to be alone, "No you're okay, stay, have fun."

Sean and Scott both pouted, "Yeah, stay."

Emily and Sasha shrugged, "Be safe Steph and text us to let us know you're home."

Rolling her eyes she just waved her hand dismissively as she made her way out of the bar.

Arriving home Stephanie sent Sasha a quick text before she threw her phone onto the couch as she walked past it heading straight for the kitchen immediately pulling the bottle of wine from it and opened it and poured herself a glass before she replaced the bottle in the fridge and made her way to her bedroom.

Looking around her room she sighed, she really had nothing to do here but she just couldn't stay at the bar either. Taking a drink from the glass she carefully put it down on the top before she pulled out one of the textbooks for the next year out of her bag and threw it on the bed, she had to pretend that she had a reason to come home so she didn't have to deal with twenty questions so studying would be a good excuse.

Returning to the table after his dance and politely making his excuses to get away Paul wondered where Stephanie was, "Is Steph in the bathroom?"

"If you mean at home then maybe but I'm not her keeper and didn't attach a camera to her so have no idea."

Sean couldn't help but laugh at Sasha, "Well that told you."

"She said she had stuff to do or something and left as soon as you did. If you ask me though I think she was full of shit, she had nothing to do at all."

Looking up from his beer Scott motioned to Sasha, "What she said. I may not be an expert on women but I would be willing to bet my entire collection of games on her being hurt by what you did."

Sighing he stood back up, "Okay thanks, I will try and get to the bottom of what was wrong with her. Will anyone please give me their keys to get in as I'm not sure she'll answer the door?"

Against her better judgement Emily gave him her keys before the four remaining occupants at the table watched Paul leave before Emily spoke up, "Correct me if I'm wrong but does anyone else get the feeling that there is more to their relationship than meets the eye?"

Sean was the first to speak up, "I'm definitely getting a 'they've fucked' vibe from them, either that or they really want to."

Groaning Scott shook his head, "I wish you wouldn't be so vulgar."

Jumping in to stick up for him Sasha frowned, "It is honest though, something is going on because why else would she be so hurt?"

"Let's not talk about them though, they'll just ruin our evening so let's just have fun."

On his way to the apartment Paul tried calling Stephanie but it just rang out so when he arrived at the apartment he just let himself in before he dropped the keys on the table by the door so Emily could retrieve them as soon as she got home.

Taking a deep breath he couldn't hear any noise from a TV or anything so went off in search of her bedroom, he had no idea where it was but there couldn't be many rooms to search. One bedroom and the bathroom later he was stood outside of a closed door, this could be her bedroom but also might not be but he was only going to find out one way. Opening the door he frowned seeing her laying on the bed thumbing through a textbook, "Did you really leave the bar to start work on what you might be studying in college this year?"

Looking over her shoulder at him she rolled he eyes, "I did text the girls to say I got home safely so you can go back to your dance partner."

Getting a strong feeling that she was mad at him he wanted to make it right so moved closer to the bed, "No thanks, I gave her a dance and then told her I wasn't interested but passed her to someone who was." Climbing onto the bed he lay down beside her and placed his arm over her waist.

Stiffening a little when he placed his arm over her waist she didn't know what he wanted from her tonight.

Pulling her closer he began placing gentle kisses on her neck, "Is it too much to ask if you are in the mood?"

Closing her eyes as his lips touched her skin her textbook was forgotten, "In the mood for what?"

Raising his eyebrow as he looked down at her he wondered if she was being deliberately stupid, "Would you like a verbal explanation or a physical demonstration?"

She had been mad but having him here with her she just wasn't feeling mad anymore, the realisation that this was probably going to end soon when he got a girlfriend made her want to make the most of him, "A physical demonstration sounds good."

After the way she had been acting with him since he arrived he was actually surprised to hear her say that, "Are you sure? You weren't best pleased to see me or when I touched you first."

He was right, she hadn't been very nice to him when he arrived but she was jealous of him being around another woman however she couldn't tell him that, "Guilty as charged but I guess I was a bit mad that you interrupted my studying but I am sure about this."

He didn't buy her excuse but he wasn't going to question her and make her **really** mad at him, "Well if you change your mind let me know." Closing the distance between their faces he smiled against her lips as they finally touched.

Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him closer, it felt good being back at College and being able to do this whenever she wanted, for the time being anyway because nothing good ever lasted forever.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning when he woke up with her in his arms it felt so right and he wished this could happen more often but he just didn't have the guts to ask her to make it more official so he would take whatever time and opportunities he gave her, even just hanging out was better than nothing for him.

Playing with his fingers as they were wrapped around her she wanted him to be here forever but considering they were just friends with benefits that wasn't going to happen.

When he felt her playing with his fingers he knew she was awake so he pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder and pulled her back against him a little tighter, "Good morning. What are the chances of me getting out of here without being noticed?"

Closing her eyes briefly she opened them and tilted her head back to look at him, "Probably slim to none but if we just say that we both fell asleep then we can get away with it, they aren't to know any different."

Smiling he pressed a kiss to her shoulder, "Thanks Steph."

Not releasing his hand she smiled, "You're welcome. Now shhh before they realise we're awake and come in."

Burying his face in her hair so she could muffle his laughter he rested his head on the pillow and just relaxed with her in his arms.

Ten minutes later Paul pulled his hand from Stephanie's and climbed out of bed beginning to get dressed again.

Rolling over she pulled the sheet up around her as she watched him get dressed, "Are we friends again?"

Doing up the button of his jeans he sat down on the bed to put his shoes on, "We never weren't you know. I think you were the one who walked out of our night out with some lame excuse about having things to do."

Sliding out of bed she grabbed some clothes to pull on before she jumped in the shower, "Yeah I'm sorry about that, I guess I had a lot of things on my mind and I just needed to get away but I'm glad you came to find me."

Throwing his arm around her shoulder he led her towards the door, "Best friends forever, through thick and through thin we will always be together."

Laughing she swung her bedroom door open and headed straight for the front door, "You are such a dork."

Smiling he opened the front door and turned to face her before he left, "And proud of it. I will text you later but now you need to shower as you smell."

Smacking his chest she pushed him out of the door, "You smell worse now go away." Slamming the door in his face she leant against it and sighed, this was getting way too close.

Reluctantly pushing herself away from the door she walked through to the kitchen and frowned when Sasha and Emily turned to face her, "What?"

"Why the hell did Paul stay all night? Is there something you want to tell us?"

Rolling her eyes she popped some bread into the toaster, "We were talking last night, we both fell asleep, end of story."

Raising her eyebrow Sasha got up to put her plate in the sink, "And is that all you **want** to happen?"

Sighing heavily she shrugged, "I don't know what I want but I do know he is my best friend and I don't want to actually lose him."

Placing a supportive hand on her shoulder Emily squeezed gently, "For what it is worth he seems to like you."

Grateful to the toaster for popping up at that exact moment she just focussed on buttering her toast and ignoring the statement.

Walking through the front door Paul groaned seeing Sean and Scott sat in front of the Playstation, "Seriously? Did you not go to bed or did you set your alarms for ridiculous o'clock?"

Pausing the game Sean smirked at Paul, "Did you go out really early in the same clothes you wore last night or did you get some and just not come home?"

"Ha ha, very funny. Last night I went to check up on Stephanie to make sure she was okay and fell asleep on her bed."

"Well you look well rested so her bed must be real comfy."

Rolling his eyes Paul ignored the comment and headed for the bathroom to shower.

A few days had passed since Paul had spent the night with Stephanie and he hadn't seen much of her but it was now Friday night and Sean and Scott were annoying him to get him to ask the girls to go out with them to a club for a few drinks because they wanted to hit on them some more.

Clenching his fists as Sean asked him for the third time in ten minutes if he had texted Stephanie yet he wasn't sure where his control came from, "You have been sat there watching me eat my lunch, did I pick up my phone at all? No, so the answer to your question is a resounding no and will continue to be no if you don't leave me the fuck alone."

Shaking his head Sean picked up his plate and dumped it in the sink, "Don't get mad because you haven't got any lately."

Standing up Scott could sense that things were about to blow up unless somebody shut Sean up, "This is the point where you quit whilst you're still in one piece Sean. Paul, text her if you want or don't, we'll go out anyway so it doesn't matter if you invite them."

Leaving the room Paul failed to tell the other two that he **had** texted Stephanie, she just hadn't replied to him but there was no harm sending her one more text:

 _Steph, we're all going out tonight so if you want to join us then we'll be at Liquid from about 9._

Walking into his room he tossed his phone on the bed he picked up his sketch pad to begin to do some sketching to take his mind off of her.

Picking up her phone when it beeped Stephanie frowned when she saw the message was from Paul and just put it down again and went back to her assignment, or was going to until Sasha interrupted, "Who's annoying you today?"

Lifting her head to look at her she was confused, "Huh?"

"Your phone, you didn't even read the text which must mean it is somebody you don't want to talk to."

How was she supposed to explain that she had gotten in way over her head and didn't know how to get out of this without losing him for good or getting hurt? Shrugging her shoulders she went with the first idea that hit her, "It was only Paul, again. He has texted me a few times asking if we wanted to go out with them all again tonight but I haven't responded so it's probably a reminder."

Grabbing the pen from Stephanie's hand before she could go back to work she needed answers, "Why wouldn't you answer him? He is meant to be your best friend so it is only polite to respond to his texts."

Rolling her eyes she reached to get her pen back, "I'm not being rude, I am just undecided on whether I want to actually go out with the boys tonight."

Moving the pen to prevent her taking it and going back to doing her work as she wasn't done talking to her yet she eyed her sceptically,"Mmhmm. I swear something is going on between the two of you and I don't understand why you don't just ask him out."

Snatching the pen from her hand she began to work on her assignment and completely ignored what she said because she just couldn't deal with talking to somebody about that, she had cried enough the past few days that she wasn't sure she had tears left to shed.

Waiting until Stephanie got up to use the bathroom Sasha quickly snatched up Stephanie's phone from the table and read the text from Paul and replied:

 _We'll be there._

Deleting her text as soon as it had been sent she put the phone back down where she had picked it up from and sat patiently waiting for her return, "So we should have a girls night, just us, alcohol and music so how about we go to Liquid?"

Shrugging her shoulders the text from Paul was forgotten as a girls night sounded so good, "Girls night it is. I will finish this off and then we should start getting ready."

Squealing Sasha jumped up from her seat and ran to inform Emily of the plans.

It was just after nine when the girls arrived at Liquid, Stephanie actualy felt pretty and she was so happy that she wouldn't see Paul tonight because she was going to try to move on and find somebody new.

The girls were stood at the bar ordering drinks when Stephanie was approached by a guy, "Hey there beautiful. Could I trouble you for a dance?"

Looking around Stephanie wasn't sure who he was talking to but figured it wasn't her and guessed from where he was looking that it was Sasha, "Sasha this guy wants to dance with you."

The guy quickly shook his head, "No no, I meant you beautiful not your friend."

Shrugging her shoulders she figured if she was going to move on now was a good time to start, "One dance and then I want my drink so I will be coming back to the bar."

Laughing the guy pulled twenty dollars from his wallet and tossed it onto the bar, "I'll pay for the round and anything leftover can be used for the next." Taking hold of Stephanie's hand he led her towards the dance floor

As soon as Stephanie had left Emily gave Sasha an odd look, "Did I miss something?"

Sasha wanted to know that too, "I . . . I have no idea."

Just as she paid for the drinks Paul appeared behind her, "Where's Steph?"

Motioning to the dance floor Emily scanned the crowd to spot her, "She's dancing with some guy . . . on the left hand side."

Paul didn't know why it made him so mad that she was dancing with someone, they weren't exclusive . . . because he wasn't man enough to have the conversation with her. Rubbing his face wearily he ordered himself a shot of whiskey and downed it in one before he ordered a round of beers for the boys, "Why don't you girls come and join us in our booth, there is plenty of room."

Sasha quickly nodded her head, "We will, definitely. As soon as Stephanie comes back to us we will join you."

Watching Paul walk off Emily turned to Sasha, "What are you playing at?"

"Can't you see how much they want each other? I'm just trying to help them along." The conversation was cut short when Stephanie appeared again, "We got you a drink. Let's go and sit at a booth."

She didn't have time to ask any questions as her arms were quickly grabbed and she was practically dragged through the crowds towards the booth until they stopped at an occupied one and she saw why they were here so she plastered a smile on her face, "Hi Paul, I didn't know you'd be here."

Standing up so the girls could take a seat he looked at her oddly, "You replied and told me you'd meet us here."

Opening her mouth to reply she didn't get a chance as a woman practically drooled over Paul, "Care to dance handsome?"

Turning his head to look at whoever had interrupted his conversation he tried to be polite, "I was in the middle of a conversation sorry."

"It's okay Paul, don't worry about our conversation."

The woman took this as her cue to put her hands on his arms, "Your conversation is over so will you join me now?"

"I don't dance, sorry."

Not to be deterred she took hold of his hands now, "Don't worry, I'll just dance around you."

Sean gave Paul a gentle nudge, "Go on man, you can't turn the lady down."

Sighing heavily he reluctantly allowed himself to be led onto the dance floor.

Sitting in the booth she just wanted to get drunk, this was far from the evening that she had hoped for and she just wanted it to be over and if it wasn't going to be over immediately she'd just get drunk so she couldn't remember it. Downing her drink quickly she silently got up and went to get herself another one.

As soon as Stephanie left Scott looked at the girls, "Is our company bad or is she reacting to Paul with that woman?"

Sasha decided to divulge the information that she knew, "It is all Paul. She didn't answer Paul earlier, I did, she was planning on just ignoring him but she won't open up to anyone about what is really going on so the truth is anything could be wrong but I think she likes him."

Snorting Sean shook his head, "Even **I** have figured that one out. You can smell her jealousy tonight from a mile off but I hope he figures it all out before things go wrong."

Paul returned from his dance to see that Stephanie wasn't at the booth. Sliding in he stared at the girls, "Don't tell me she has left again."

"No, she has gone to get another drink I think. She didn't say she was leaving so that is where I assume she is anyway."

Just as Emily finished talking Stephanie returned with two drinks in hand, "So where am I sitting now?"

Sliding back out of the booth Paul motioned for Stephanie take a seat waiting until she did before he sat back next to her draping his arm along the booth behind her, "So are you girls going to be dancing the night away?"

Sasha nudged Emily sharply in the ribs and subtly indicated to Paul's arm which just earned her a glare, "We will soon, we are going to have a drink first."

Stephanie sat there silently drinking her two cocktails letting everybody around her do the talking which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the booth but nobody was brave enough to mention anything.

Getting ready to get up to dance Emily was giving Scott strict instructions not to let their bags out of his sight when another woman approached the booth, "Hey handsome, want to dance?"

Sean smirked, "You bet I want to dance with you."

Shaking her head she looked directly at Paul, "I'm talking to this one here."

Groaning Paul shook his head, "I have had my fill of dancing today, no more."

"Awww, it's my birthday, you can't turn me down on my birthday." Pouting for extra effect she really wanted him to dance with her as she had a bet to win.

Things were weird enough with Stephanie without him going to dance with somebody else, "There are plenty of guys in this building, I am sure that one of them will dance with you."

Not taking 'no' for an answer she grabbed his hand and pulled on it, "Please? One dance, it's all I ask."

Irritated he reluctantly got up and followed her, "Fine, whatever, anything for a quiet life so I can spend my evening with my friends."

Watching him get up and dance for the second time in half an hour pissed Stephanie off and hurt her because he would never dance with her and she realised she just couldn't be here tonight, "I'm leaving. You're not changing my mind so stay, have fun." Getting up she held he bag close as she made sure she had her purse and phone before she made her way through the crowd towards the exit.

Scott frowned as he watched her leave, "Her friendship with Paul is so close to being burned to the ground right now, please tell me everybody else can see that too."

Staring at her friend through the crowd as she walked out of the club Sasha ran her fingers through her hair, "He's destroying her. This calls for an intervention but not tonight, she has drunk too much not to hate us for it."

Shuffling out of the booth the girls stood up brushing down their dresses ready to go dancing when Paul returned, "Where's Steph?"

She was normally so mild mannered but for the second night this week he had driven her friend away from their night out so she just couldn't hold her tongue, "Where do you think asshole? If you're too stupid to see the truth then you don't deserve to be her friend."

Grabbing Sasha's arm she dragged her onto the dance floor before she smacked Paul.

He stood there confused watching the girls leave before he turned back to his friends, "What the hell is going on?"

It was Scott's turn to want to smack some sense into Paul, "I'll put this simply for you. Stephanie has left because she isn't a fan of seeing you with other women, figure it out yet?"

"It can't be that, it's not that at all. I should go and find her though, we need to figure this out."

"Congratulations on finally working that out, I could have told you that you needed to talk from the moment she left the first time."

Shaking his head Paul downed the rest of his beer before he left to go and try and find her.


	5. Chapter 5

Leaving the club Stephanie paused as she tried to decide whether to go straight home or go for a walk, it was still early so was light and relatively warm out so safety wasn't an issue immediately. She was brought out of her thoughts by a gentle tap to the shoulder, "Ma'am are you okay? Would you like me to call you a cab?"

Jumping a little she spun around to come face to chest with the bouncer, "I'm fine thanks, just trying to decide whether to go for a walk or to go home."

Smiling politely the bouncer wasn't going to convince her to stay as she looked unhappy, "Personally I'd go for a walk but that's just me and I'm a man and probably safer than a lone female may be but if you stayed near people you'd be fine walking too."

Laughing softly she had never known a bouncer to ramble, "Thank you for that, I needed that laugh. I think I will go for a walk so thank you for the help."

"You're welcome, stay safe and come back again."

Smiling and waving politely as she walked off she was hoping that this walk would clear her head.

Exiting the club Paul looked around seeking out Stephanie and although he saw a lot of people none of them were her.

Noticing a guy leaving the club in a hurry and looking around the bouncer was concerned, "What the hell is going on in there tonight?"

Spinning around he was not going to have a conversation without looking in their eyes and he was surprised to come face to face with the bouncer, "I don't know why? I'm looking for my best friend, she's mad as hell at me and I need to sort this thing between us out. Have you seen her leaving please?"

Looking at him suspiciously he wasn't about to put anybody in danger, "Maybe, maybe not. Who are you and how do I know I can trust you?"

"Her name's Stephanie, she's probably close to six foot tall with heels but is five foot eight without, she has long brown hair and she was wearing a hot pink mini skirt and a white strappy top and is carrying a gold clutch bag type thing. She is my best friend and we haven't fallen out face to face but she is mad as hell at me and I need to figure this out, I can't lose her."

Glaring at the younger man he seemed to know a lot about her, "I'll tell you where she went if you let me take a picture as proof incase anything goes wrong."

Stepping back he threw his arms up in the air, "Sure, just hurry."

Grabbing the polaroid camera he took a picture of him and picked up a pen ready to take down his name but instead Paul snatched the pen from his hand and scribbled down his name and address, "There, now please tell me where she is."

"She went to the left and has gone for a walk to clear her head."

"Thanks." Practically running off he had a lot of ground to make up for.

Walking away from the club Stephanie needed to clear her head because she couldn't keep going on like this, her feelings for Paul were getting deeper and deeper the more they slept together but for him it was just sex. Running her fingers through her hair she stopped to admire the flower garden because it allowed her mind to go to another place.

Relieved when he saw Stephanie stopped Paul slowly approached her, "Will you ever stay until the end of the evening?"

Jumping when she heard his voice this was not what she needed right now, "Will you ever take a hint and leave me alone?"

Walking slowly closer he realised that saying she was mad at him would be an absolute understatement, "I don't know, I mean understanding subtlety has never been my forte. Seriously though Steph, where the hell did we go so wrong?"

Not daring to look at him she continued to stare at the flowers, "We didn't go wrong."

"Really?! You could have fooled me when you won't even look at me and can't bear to be in the same building as me."

Sighing she raked her fingers through her hair and figured it was now or never to be honest with him, "I can't keep going on like this, I can't keep sleeping with you."

Stepping closer he wasn't entirely sure what the issue was but he wanted to talk it out, "Okay, if that is what you want. Why don't you want to continue sleeping together? If you could just be honest with me on this one thing then I would be happy."

"If I am honest with you it will destroy our friendship so I would rather not do it."

Gently placing his hand on her shoulder he watched her flinch and pull away a little, "I think our friendship is stronger than to be destroyed by honesty so please, just tell me."

She couldn't look at him as she already wanted to cry as she had promised herself that she would never tell him the truth. Closing her eyes she could barely get her voice to work so it only came out as a whisper, "I think I'm falling in love with you."

Hearing her say those words he slowly exhaled the breath that he had been holding in, "Really?! God, you have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

Her eyes snapped open and she spun around to face him, "What?!"

Chuckling at her reaction it wasn't quite what he had been expecting, "I am really happy to hear you say that you think you're falling in love with me . . . because I think I am falling in love with you too."

Blinking rapidly she couldn't believe that he said that, "Are you playing with me right now?"

Unsure whether to be offended or not he thought actions would be greater than words so he closed the small distance that still remained between them and placed his lips against hers in what started as a soft and gentle kiss but when she started to respond he deepened the kiss until their tongues were duelling.

When the ability to breathe became a little difficult he slowly pulled away from the kiss, "Does that answer your question?"

Her hand remained around his neck and she rested her head on his chest, "Maybe?" Lifting her head she didn't know if this actually meant anything, "So what if you were telling me the truth though, what does it change?"

"Well you see I tend to like to date the girls I am in love with so hopefully it would change your status from my best friend to my girlfriend, that's if you want to though."

The hand she had around his neck trailed down his chest slowly before it fell to her side, "You're not just saying this right?"

Taking hold of her hands he looked her directly in the eyes as he spoke, "I am not just saying this when I say I am falling in love and I would really like you to be my girlfriend. As my best friend you should be able to tell when I am lying or not so you can judge for yourself."

Staring into his eyes as he spoke she saw the truth there, "I would love to be your girlfriend."

Pulling her closer he slipped his arms around her waist and held her tightly, "I'm so glad we talked about this, it was killing me keeping it from you. Would you like to go back to one of our apartments or back to the club?"

Raising her eyebrow he was being rather presumptuous, "Maybe I do want to go home . . . alone. What made you think you'd be invited?"

Shrugging he tilted his head to the side not sure if he was in trouble already, "Wishful thinking?"

Giggling she leant up and kissed him softly, "Good answer. Let's go back to the club, soon we won't have the time to really go out and enjoy ourselves so let's make the most of it."

Letting go of her he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Back to the club we go."

The two walked arm in arm back to the club smiling at the bouncer as they passed by him entering the club and headed straight for the bar to get a drink. As soon as they had their drinks they made their way back to the booth and silently sat back down.

Exchanging glances when the couple sat down the girls tried to figure out what was going on, "We thought you had left Steph."

They hadn't talked about whether they would tell people so she decided to just not, "I did leave, I went for a walk and then I came back again. I'll leave again if you would prefer that I am not here."

Snatching Stephanie's cocktail from in front of her Sasha glared at her, "Try it and I'll kill you."

Crossing her arms she pouted, "First you take my drink and then you say you'll kill me if I try and leave, some friend you are."

Emily cut in before they actually did fight for real, "I think what she was saying was that a girls night isn't quite a girls night without you around."

Nodding Sasha pointed at her, "What she said."

Resting his arm on the back of the booth behind Stephanie Paul was confused, "Do girls always act like this? I mean it's enough to give you a headache."

Removing the olive from her drink Sasha threw it at his head, "Shut up or you are banished from this booth."

Paul caught the olive and popped it into his mouth, "Sorry, I was just speaking the truth. So I guess the three of you are abandoning me soon? Where are the boys though?"

Emily shrugged, "Question number one is answered with a 'yes' and question number two is answered with 'I have no idea' because they disappeared and have not returned."

As if on cue Scott returned, "I thought only the women's room had a queue to get in."

Stephanie nudged Paul, "Move please so us girls can dance."

Moving out of the booth he helped Stephanie climb out before Scott took her place and the other girls joined Stephanie and the three went out onto the dance floor

Once the girls were out of earshot and Scott was comfortable he stared at Paul, "So tell me, how come you managed to get her to willingly be in the same room as you and not look like she wanted to murder somebody?"

"We talked, I managed to get her to open up to me and we sorted things out." He was telling the truth, not the whole truth but the truth none the less but he hoped that Scott wouldn't ask any more questions.

Paul's prayers were answered when Sean reappeared, "So I just got some chick's number without even trying. Whoa, Paul you're back. Is Stephanie with you?"

Rolling his eyes he could tell Sean had had a lot of drinks since he had left, "Why? Do you love her?"

Spluttering Scott wiped the drink that had dribbled down his chin when he laughed, "Nah, he has his eyes on Sasha but she doesn't want anything to do with him."

"Shut up, you know she wants me but she is just playing hard to get."

The boys conversation was interrupted when the girls reappeared, "We are giving you all one shot to dance with us, we thought it was only fair."

He hated dancing but he had danced with a few girls so he definitely had to get up and dance, "I'm in. Boys?"

Sean smirked, "I pick Sasha."

The girls all shared a look and giggled and took the hands of their respective partners for the next dance.

Standing in the middle of the dance floor Stephanie mainly danced around Paul because she knew how much he hated it but when a slow song came on he quickly turned around and pulled her into his arms, "I will do everything in my power to keep you happy, even dancing with you."

Sliding her hands into the back pockets of his jeans she sighed happily as she lay her head on his chest, "I won't ask of it too often but slow songs are okay aren't they?"

Resting his cheek on the top of her head he closed his eyes briefly, "Slow dances are perfectly fine."

Sasha was dancing with Sean and Emily was dancing with Scott but when Scott noticed the way Stephanie and Paul were dancing together he carefully danced through the small crowd between them until he reached Sean and Sasha, "Has anyone else noticed Stephanie and Paul?"

All three heads turned to look at the couple and the girls both went 'awww' as they saw the scene in front of them, "If I didn't know better I would say they were a couple."

Twirling Emily out a little and then back to him Scott nodded his head, "I agree but I don't think they want to tell people as I did ask him about how he got Stephanie to come back and he was vague so we shouldn't tease them or push them to tell us, we know the truth and that is all that matters."

Smiling up at the man she was dancing with Emily found herself falling for him just a little bit, "I'm with Scott, if they open up to us then great, if not let's just ignore any signs of coupledom between them until they're ready to be honest with us."

Returning he smile he nodded, "I'm in. Sean? Can you sign up to something like this?"

Glaring at the man whose arms she was in Sasha was not going to be best pleased, "Yeah Sean, can you?"

Shrinking a little under their gazes he felt like he was on trial for murder with the intensity of their stares, "I can try. I can't promise anything but I will try. Does this count?"

The girls both looked at Scott as he knew him best and he nodded his head, "This is the best we can hope for but I will try to keep him in line."

Biting her lip Emily looked over at Paul and Stephanie before she looked at Scott, "Care to join me for a drink at the bar?"

Nodding his head he took a step back before guiding her over to the bar, "Whatever you want is on me."

Leaning on the bar she shrugged, "A beer is good for me." Waiting until Scott had ordered the beers she turned to face him, "So I don't normally do this but seeing those two together and the way you have been towards me since we met and about them I just wondered if maybe you wanted to hang out sometime?"

Taken back by the question his eyes widened, "I . . . wait, a date like thing?"

Shrugging her shoulders she looked around nervously, "Maybe?"

Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear he smiled, "I would love to. We'll talk tomorrow okay?"

Nodding her head she took the beer as it appeared beside her, "Tomorrow is good, maybe we could do lunch?"

"Lunch is good, text me."

Their conversation came to an abrupt halt when Sasha appeared, "I need a drink and fast, that man drives me crazy."

Motioning for the barman he simply said, "Give us three shots of tequila please."

Sasha smiled at him, "Thank you, you are my hero."

Their dance came to an end and the music sped up again but Stephanie and Paul didn't immediately part, being in his arms felt so right and she didn't want to remove herself from them.


	6. Chapter 6

Everybody had a good time now that Paul and Stephanie were back talking to each other and could tolerate being in the same room so they spent the night out drinking and partying finally arriving home just before five in the morning. As it was so late and most of them were pretty drunk despite the fact that the boys lived just across the street once they had escorted the girls to the front door they stumbled through the door themselves and collapsed in the lounge.

Leaning against the wall Stephanie watched as her friends made their way unsteadily towards their bedrooms and shut the doors behind them. Turning to say goodnight to her boyfriend she noticed how his eyes were trained on the lounge and she turned to look at what he was looking at and shook her head, "Looks like everyone is crashing here tonight, care to join them?"

Raising his eyebrow with a small smirk playing on his lips he turned to look at her, "Crashing on the floor in the lounge or crashing in your bed?"

Walking past him she shut the front door firmly and made sure it was locked before she slipped her fingers through his, "Where do you think?" Tugging on his arm gently she began to walk towards her bedroom.

Following his girlfriend as she led him to her bedroom he stifled a yawn, crawling into bed and holding her close was the perfect end to the evening so he was glad that he had an excuse to stay over because he hadn't really been able to touch her much after they returned to the club and were around everybody else.

Shutting the bedroom door Paul kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt tossing it somewhere in the direction of the corner of the room before he undid his pants and kicked them off in the same general direction and went and crawled into bed to wait for Stephanie to join him so he could fall asleep with her in his arms.

Stepping out of her shoes Stephanie's hand went to the zip of her skirt to remove it as she looked at Paul out of the corner of her eye, she didn't want him to take this the wrong way so looked around for something to wear, upon spotting his shirt on the floor she walked over to where it was laying on the floor and picked it up tossing it on the end of the bed. Deliberately keeping he eyes off of his face despite feeling his gaze on her she quickly undid her skirt and let it drop to the floor letting it stay pooled around her feet as she removed her top quickly replacing it with his shirt. Only when she was somewhat dressed again did she bend down to pick up her skirt and dropped that and her top in the laundry basket in the corner of the room before she crawled into bed next to him, "Goodnight Paul."

Wrapping his arm around his girlfriend he kissed the top of her head, "Goodnight baby."

Five hours later and Stephanie woke up to an empty bed, she knew he couldn't have left unless it was half naked and that wasn't Paul's style so she rolled out of bed and tugged gently on the bottom of the shirt that she was wearing to go and find him.

Walking through the house she smiled seeing the girls doors shut still and then when she walked through the lounge seeing the boys sprawled out across the couch and the chair she laughed softly, she was so glad she hadn't drunk a whole lot after the first half hour last night. Entering the kitchen she smiled seeing her boyfriend at the stove wearing just his pants and cooking . . . something. Walking closer she slipped her arms around his waist and kissed his bare shoulder, "Morning baby, I missed you."

Flipping the pancake he rubbed her arm gently with his free hand, "Good morning. I was going to bring this to you in bed but you just had to wake up didn't you? Are we going to tell the guys what's going on between us?"

Moving away from him slightly so he could focus on cooking she shrugged, "I don't know, I kind of don't want to just yet but I think they'll guess."

"Maybe we don't outright tell them but if they ask we confirm it?"

Getting herself a glass from the cupboard she walked to the fridge to pour some orange juice, "I guess that works. What are your plans for today?"

Taking the pancake out of the pan he dropped it on the plate before he added more batter to the pan, "I've got some sketching to do, you?"

Gulping down half of her glass she placed it on the table, "Who knows, probably more reading for class. Do you think we could go somewhere and just be together whilst we do our own work?"

Looking over his shoulder at her he took in her appearance properly for the first time and found it hard to say no when she was looking so sexy, "We could go to the park? I could find something to sketch there and you could bring your book to read and we can be spending time together so we're killing two birds with one stone."

Blushing at the way his eyes were darting up and down her body she was grateful when she heard movement from the lounge, "Sounds good to me, make the most of the time before classes all kick off and we are too busy."

Sean staggered into the kitchen, "I need food and drink. Nice outfit Steph."

Feeling slightly self conscious about the way she was dressed with the boys being around she awkwardly motioned to the doorway, "I'm going to jump in the shower, leave some breakfast for me please Paul."

"Don't worry, I won't let the boys eat them all as it is your place and your food so their portions will be strictly rationed."

Laughing softly she walked over to him and kissed his cheek, "Thanks." Turning to walk out of the door she stopped briefly, "Good morning Sean." Walking out of the room she was hungry so wanted to shower and dress quickly.

As soon as Stephanie had left Sean moved over to the fridge and pulled out the milk carton, "So why exactly is she wearing your shirt?"

Pulling a glass out of the cupboard he had seen Stephanie take one from earlier he placed it in front of Sean, "Why exactly did you crash on the couch of somebody else's house? We were all drunk Sean, I don't think anybody can analyse anything another person did as when you're drunk you do strange things."

Pouring the milk into the glass he put the carton back into the fridge, "Sensitive much?"

Scott had barely been awake when his headache kicked in and hearing noise coming from the kitchen he headed in that direction but when he heard the conversation he frowned, "For fucks sake I have a hangover and cannot be dealing with you two arguing so shut up Sean and stop being a pain in his ass."

"Hey! I have a hangover too but I was only asking him why Steph was wearing his shirt."

"And soon I'll be asking where you are when he kills you and dumps your body somewhere. Just shut up and somebody please point me to the painkillers."

Emily squeaked as she blindly entered the kitchen to find it full of men, "How did you get here?"

Being the one with the least restrictive hangover Paul decided to take the lead, "We all stayed over, they stayed on the couch in the lounge and I stayed with Steph and now I'm making pancakes. You don't mind do you?"

Pushing her way past Scott and Sean she didn't care, "Right now no, I just want a glass of water so I can take some painkillers."

"Do you have any spare please?"

Tossing the strip onto the table she was going to allow them to fight amongst themselves for them as she had hers in her hand, "Be my guest."

Relieved that the argument had been interrupted Paul focussed his attention on finishing cooking the pancakes before he dished up a couple on two plates for Sean and Scott and handed them to them, "These are yours right now and if there are leftovers you can ask the girls if they mind you having them." Turning his attention to Stephanie who had just re-entered the room he tried not to smile at how cute she looked all fresh out of the shower with wet hair and a pair of jeans and a vest top, "I don't know if you want to tell Emily that breakfast is done and see if Sasha is awake or what but this is all yours now."

Waiting for the other two to leave the room with their pancakes she walked over to her boyfriend and kissed him softly, "Thank you baby."

Resisting the urge to pull her into his arms he picked up some cutlery from the table and headed into the lounge with the boys.

After breakfast the boys went back across the road to their own place but not before Sasha made a snarky comment about them being too lazy to walk the short distance across the road to their own place the night before.

The second the door shut Stephanie could feel the atmosphere change and it made her nervous, "I am going to finish setting my room up and maybe read some stuff for some of my classes."

As fast as lightning Sasha's arm shot out stopping her passing, "Oh no you don't. What's going on between you and Paul? One minute you can't bear to be in the same building as him and the next he is sharing your bed."

She tried to think of a good lie that sounded believable, "I was pissed at him, he was always telling me no when I asked him to dance with me but he was willing to dance with other women so I was offended and really really mad at him but we talked and smoothed things over and we're friends again, I mean he is my best friend so there is no chance of me being mad at him forever."

The two girls exchanged looks not entirely believing her but they couldn't disprove it, "Okay fine you can pass but I like your friendship with him if I get pancakes out of it."

Rolling her eyes she playfully swatted her hand at Sasha as she made her way to the bedroom.

A couple of hours later and Stephanie and Paul were at the park laying on the grass each with their head in a book, she was laying on her back with her head resting on his legs reading and he was leaning against a tree sketching, "You know I never imagined that I would be so comfortable and happy sat silently working with my girlfriend, I always imagined that I would feel like something was missing."

Laying the book across her chest she turned her head to look at him, "I know what you mean. I never knew that I could get so much work done studying with my boyfriend."

Smiling softly he wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, "That's . . . good?"

"It is good, it's a compliment. Can I see what you're working on please?" Pushing herself to a seated position before she placed her book on the grass her attention was briefly drawn to the guys across the way playing football before she turned her attention to her boyfriend.

A couple more strokes of the pencil and Paul felt satisfied that she could see it, "It is a work in progress obviously but hopefully you will get the general idea of what I am going for."

Taking the sketch book from his hands she admired the way he had drawn the boys playing football, "I love what you are doing with this. I know I'm your best friend and girlfriend but of all of the sketches you have shown me, and admittedly that isn't a great number, I have to say that this is by far my favourite, if only it was for an assignment and you would get the highest marks in the history of high marks."

Laughing at her comment he took the book back from her, "You have to say that but thanks. I haven't done a great deal of sketching over the summer, just little bits here and there, so I am trying to get back into the groove of sketching and I am oddly motivated with you laying here with me."

Leaning up closer to him she kissed him softly, "I'm glad I can motivate you without even trying."

Feeling her phone vibrating against her leg she pulled it out to see a text from Sasha:

 _Where are you? I want to go shopping and I was hoping you'd come too because Em won't._

Rolling her eyes she contemplated ignoring the text but figured that she would just start ringing her if she did:

 _I'm out working, you'll have to find somebody else or not go at all._

Sliding her phone back into her pocket she shuffled down on the grass to lay back down, "Let's just enjoy some more quiet time whilst we can."

It worked for Paul as he was feeling extremely motivated and wanted to get this sketch finished as he was proud of what he had done so far and if it turned out as well as he hoped then he could slip it into his portfolio to show the diversity in his sketching.


	7. Chapter 7

Classes had started a few weeks earlier and Stephanie and Paul had still managed to find time to spend together, even if it did involve both of them working they were happy just being together but they still hadn't told anybody they were officially an item.

It was Friday night and the six of them had agreed to go bowling because it had been a while since they had all hung out and none of them were in the mood to go dancing so Scott had suggested bowling and everybody had agreed.

The six of them were sat putting on their shoes for bowling when Emily blurted out, "Scott and I are dating."

Everybody including Scott turned their attention to her and she blushed and shrugged her shoulders, "What? It was killing me keeping it quiet so I had to let it out."

Sean looked offended at the revelation, "How does he have a girlfriend before I do? This is not fair."

Unable to stop himself from teasing his friend Scott said, "Because I treat the ladies with respect and you treat them like they owe you something."

Standing up Paul was not going to listen to their bickering, "Enough children. Sean let the couple get on with their lives and stop teasing them and lets just all go and enjoy the evening."

Everybody but Stephanie walked past Paul and went to find a lane to set things up. Smiling at his girlfriend he reached his hand out towards her, "I feel like a Father."

Laughing she took his hand in both of her hands, "You **are** their Father, they can both be so immature that it is just needed. I think you're hot when you're bossing them around though."

Pulling her closer he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Thanks, I think."

Walking towards the lanes he removed his arm when they got closer to the others, "So how far have you gotten to sorting things out?"

"We have decided that we will have one game singles and if people feel like it we will have a second in pairs."

Stepping forward Sean headed for the bowling balls, "I'm first."

Rolling his eyes Paul took a seat, "Of course you are."

The first game passed without incident and they decided to stay for a second game, "So who's pairing with who?"

Emily and Scott quickly moved together, "We are. I think Sean you should pair with Sasha, you two love to hate each other and Steph and Paul just love each other so they are made to be paired together."

Sasha groaned, "Well somebody is buying me ice cream to drown my sorrows in when we are done."

They were halfway through the round of pairs and after watching Emily and Scott being a couple in the open Stephanie couldn't take it any more and just blurted out, "Paul and I are dating."

Sean looked at her and shrugged, "And what? This is not news."

Her eyes flew open in surprise, "What?! How did you know this?"

"How could we not? The two of you are so hot together it would be hard not to notice that the two of you are dating."

Cutting in Emily didn't want things to get weird, "We all noticed that you were together but we wanted to wait for you to mention it when you were ready."

Her face fell at the news that everybody had already figured out that they were together, "Oh."

Wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders Paul pulled her close, "What's wrong? I thought them knowing would be a relief because now we can be a couple in the open."

Shrugging her shoulders she didn't actually know, "Let's get back to the game, who's next?"

Stepping back to look at the monitor Scott motioned to the newly public couple, "You two."

Standing up Paul kissed the top of his girlfriend's head, "My turn."

As soon as Paul vacated the seat Sasha moved to sit in it, "He really likes you, you're really lucky. Don't be upset that we knew and didn't say something to you or anything like that, be grateful that you have four friends around you who fully support your relationship and are here for you."

Looping her arm through her friend's she rested her head on her shoulder, "Thanks, I needed to hear that tonight. I haven't told my family that I have a boyfriend and I am pretty sure he hasn't told his about me because we just haven't wanted to jinx things by admitting to people that we are dating because we are best friends but things are going well so fingers crossed things continue going well."

"They will, they will, I mean what could possibly go wrong?"

It was a couple of months into the first semester of their second year and Paul was looking forward to winter break, they hadn't discussed plans yet but he was hoping he would get some time with Stephanie.

Flopping back on his bed Paul turned his head to the side and practically glared at his sketchbook , pencil and laptop that were sat there as he had so much to do and it felt like they were mocking him. He needed to check his emails and start on a written assignment due in a couple of days and he had a couple of sketches that he needed to either finish off or start over. As much as he wanted to avoid it all if he wanted to go out on a double date with Stephanie, Scott and Emily he needed to get some of that stuff done so pushing himself into a seated position he got comfortable against the pillows and started with the easiest of the jobs and opened a browser to check his emails.

Scrolling through his emails they were all mostly unimportant or junk so he highlighted the junk ones as he went so he could delete them, once he was at the top he quickly double checked the highlighted emails to make sure that they were all junk but he unclicked the one titled 'Your application for the San Francisco State University', he hadn't technically applied there so it was probably junk but he had to know for certain.

As soon as the junk emails were gone he opened the email to see what it was about:

 _Dear Mr Levesque,_

 _We have been contacted by 'Stevens, Lloyd and McKenna' with regards to a potential enrolment for you onto one of our courses._

 _We are aware that you have applied to us previously and we turned you down as your grades did not meet our standards but we work closely with them in regards to their internship program and as they are looking to enrol you on their internship program we would like to reassess your application._

 _Please fill in the attached form and fedex that and your portfolio, including some recent work both from pleasure and from assignments, to us at your earliest convenience so we can assess at the earliest possible time._

 _Many thanks,_

 _Susanna C. Lawrence_

 _Head of Internship Liaison_

Paul's eyes widened as he read and re-read the email, it couldn't possibly be real so he went back through the emails in his inbox and spotted one from one of the companies that he had applied for an internship at:

 _Dear Paul,_

 _It was lovely to meet you a few months ago and I am sorry that I have not gotten back to you sooner but I have been liaising with San Francisco State University and my partners in the firm with regards to offering you an internship._

 _Before we can formally talk about an internship I believe the University are going to be in direct contact with you so if you could do whatever it is that they are asking of you at your earliest it would be helpful to speed up the process._

 _I look forward to speaking soon,_

 _Marvin McKenna_

 _Stevens, Lloyd and McKenna Design_

So apparently the email from the University was real and he was possibly going to get an internship, the only problem was that it sounded like the internship would start before his course here was finished. Although he didn't like the sound of that he wouldn't know anything until he found out if they would take him so he just had to do as they asked and fill out their form and send off his portfolio.

Looking at his watch he realised that if he was fast he would be able to Fedex it off today so abandoning his work he began by printing off the form before he set about putting his portfolio back together.

Forty five minutes after he had read the email and Paul was paying the cost to have it all shipped overnight. Sliding the receipt into his wallet he folded it and put it back in his pocket before he looked at his watch, "Fuck."

Hurrying out of the shop he had to get home and change because they were due to pick the girls up in less than an hour.

As Stephanie and Emily both got ready in Stephanie's room to save on the mess Sasha was sat on the bed with her legs crossed literally surrounded by clothes, "Can you please decide on outfits? I feel like I am stuck on an island and the clothes are the sea preventing me from leaving."

Tossing the top in her hand at Sasha's head Stephanie rolled her eyes, "I am trying but I want to look beautiful for Paul."

"You could wear a trash bag and he would think you are beautiful so I don't know why you are trying so hard. I personally think you should go with the patterned maxi dress."

Picking the dress up off the bed she held it against her body as she looked in the mirror again, "You're right, thanks Sash."

Breathing a sigh of relief she smiled, "You're welcome, as long as you save me from my island sometime before you leave you're welcome."

When the doorbell rang signifying the arrival of their boyfriends both Stephanie and Emily were eager to see them so were both behind the door as it was opened, "Hey."

Scott and Paul smiled at their dates, "Ready?"

Looking at each other the girls smiled and nodded, "Always."

Wrapping his arm around Stephanie's shoulder Paul pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, "You look beautiful, I am a very lucky guy."

In return she wrapped her arm around his waist and leant her head against him as they walked, "You're such a smooth talker, thank you."

Rubbing her shoulder with his hand he smiled completely forgetting about the email and focussing his entire attention on her and having a good evening.

Opening his wallet to pay the bill Paul spotted the receipt from his trip to the Fedex store earlier and frowned briefly, he really should tell them what was going on but he didn't want them to think he was a failure if he didn't get in for a second time so maybe it would be best to keep this to himself, just for now.

Slapping his friend on the shoulder Scott stood beside him, "What's up with the frown? Not having fun or don't you have enough money to pay?"

Shaking his head he quickly snapped his wallet shut so he couldn't see the receipt, "Nothing like that, don't worry. I was thinking of taking Steph for a walk so if you wanted to take Emily back to ours for a bit you would have the house to yourself as Sean is also out tonight."

"Thanks dude, I might do that."

Paying the bill Paul walked back to the table, "Steph do you fancy a walk? I know it's cool out so it's up to you."

Standing up she pulled her jacket out, "No it's okay, that will be nice and you will keep me warm anyway."

Looking at Emily hopefully Scott smiled, "Do you want to come back to ours to watch a movie? Sean's out so we will have the place to ourselves."

Nodding her head Emily smiled, "I would love to, thanks Scott."

The two couples parted at the entrance of the restaurant to go about the rest of their evening alone.

As they walked hand in hand Stephanie couldn't help but notice a change in Paul, "Is everything okay Paul? Are we okay?"

Stopping where he was he turned to face her, "What? Why would you ask that? Of course we are."

"Then why are you so quiet and distant? You have been like it all night and if I didn't know better I would say that you were about to dump me."

His eyes widened and he was genuinely shocked, "What?! Steph I'm not, I wouldn't, it's not like that, I love you."

It was Stephanie's turn to be shocked, had he really just declared his love for her?

Watching his girlfriend's reaction he wasn't even sure why she was looking like that, what had he said wrong? There was only one way to find out what was going on and that was to ask, "Steph? What's wrong? What did I say?"

Staring at him she wasn't sue if he realised that he had actually said it or not, "Paul, do you know what you just said?"

"Of course, I was begging you to believe me that I wasn't dumping you."

Nodding her head slowly she wasn't sure if he didn't realise that he said it or if he was trying to deny it, "What about the part where you said 'I love you' to me? Do you not mean it like that or didn't you realise that you said it?"

Taking a deep breath this revelation was new and was unexpected. He knew in his heart for a while that he loved her but he didn't want to make it awkward by telling her but his subconscious had apparently done the work for him, "I didn't realise that I had said it but it doesn't make it false. I do love you Stephanie and have done for a while but I didn't want to tell you too soon and scare you away so I didn't want to say it until you were ready and said it. Don't think because I said it you have to say it though, I know it is soon."

Smiling softly she wrapped her arms around his neck, "You know you talk a lot when you're nervous or something. Answer this one simple question in one word, do you really love me?"

He opened his mouth to give her an explanation but then closed it as she just wanted one word. Taking a deep breath he decided to give it to her, "Yes."

Pulling him closer whilst leaning up closer to him she smiled, "I love you too." Leaning closer she pressed her lips against his smiling as he wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss.

As he stood there kissing his girlfriend after they had declared their love for each other Paul didn't want to think about the email or the potential that he would be leaving her sooner than either of them would like.


	8. Chapter 8

This is for those who requested a new chapter, enjoy :)

* * *

Having declared their love for each other the pair went back to Stephanie's place and curled up in bed together, nothing felt better to Paul than laying with her in his arms but it was so hard not to think about what might be.

Almost a week had passed since he had Fedexed off his portfolio and a form giving them permission to see his grades and have contact with his current tutors, none of his tutors had mentioned anything to him about speaking to anybody so he continued to put his entire focus into the work he was doing to prove to them that they missed out when they said he wasn't good enough for them and to prove to himself that he could do it.

Sat at the table in the kitchen with what he was hoping was a unique arrangement of toast, jars, crockery and cutlery in front of him he didn't understand the importance of the assignment but he wasn't about to fail it, if they wanted a creative sketch of toast then that is what they were going to get.

He was just finishing off the outline sketch when his cell phone rang so reaching to the counter behind him he grabbed it and answered it without looking at the caller i.d, "Paul speaking."

"Good afternoon Paul. My name is Susanna Lawrence and I am calling from San Francisco State University so I am hoping that your surname is Levesque."

Abandoning his sketch his entire attention was on this call, "That it is. Did the Fedex package reach you okay?"

Absently flicking though some of the pages of his portfolio she hated these calls, "It most certainly did. Thank you so much for your promptness, it certainly has helped the Professors come to a swift decision with regards to the request we received from Stevens, Lloyd and McKenna Design over the internship program. Having looked at your portfolio and spoken to some of your Professors I am happy to offer you a place in the graphic design course currently running here at the University."

Paul was about to celebrate but then he heard the words 'currently running' and he wasn't so happy, "What do you mean the course 'currently running' at the University? I really don't understand what is going on."

"Has nobody from Stevens, Lloyd and McKenna Design explained this to you?"

Pushing himself away from the table he stood up and began to pace, "No they have not, I haven't heard anything from them apart from a short email the day I received yours just asking me to cooperate with whatever you wanted."

Closing the portfolio she opened up a file on her computer, "I see. Basically the way the internship program works is that they normally have students originally studying at this University who apply to be interns there and they accept them and then we work in conjunction with them so they learn in class and on the job at the same time before they finish their degree and become fully fledged interns in the company. When somebody like yourself applies for the internship and they accept normally if you are outside of the area you transfer from your University to this University and what I have already said applies. In your case I assume that you will formally be offered the internship within the next few days as I have informed them that we are willing to offer you a place here but as you are transferring cross country I thought it best to speak with you to find out when you would be able to transfer and to offer my assistance."

It was so much information for Paul to take in, he didn't even know where to begin, "Umm, thanks, I think. I am so confused right now though, it is a lot to try and understand. Is it possible that you could email me all of the details please so I can get a friend to read it and help me understand it all? I am not trying to mess you around but a lot of this is news to me as nobody has told me anything before now."

"Of course Paul. I was going to email it to you anyway because I am aware that it is a big decision to make so you should get that this evening as I just have a few final pieces to put together. If you could let me know your decision as soon as possible though that would help greatly."

Sighing he was under pressure now, "Of course I will. Thank you for everything Susanna and I look forward to receiving the email."

"Have a good evening and congratulations on everything Paul, goodbye."

"Bye."

Hanging up the phone Paul leant on the counter and put his head in his hands, what had he done?

Putting his phone on the counter he sat back down to attempt to continue with his sketch for class but he didn't get very far so when the front door slammed he was relieved that somebody else was home so he could take his mind off of the phone call.

Walking into the kitchen Scott dropped his bag on the floor and grabbed some water from the fridge, "Evening Paul. May I ask what the hell you are doing to our food?"

Dropping his pencil he sat back in his chair, "I have an assignment to creatively sketch some toast so here we are."

Pulling out a chair Scott took a seat, "So why is it that you have only sketched like half a jar?"

Rubbing his temples Paul wanted to keep it a secret but he needed a second opinion, "Because I received a phone call that threw every single part of my life up in the air and I can't focus."

"So what happened? What was the phone call?"

Looking towards the door before he looked back at Scott he wanted and needed this to be a secret, "I need to know that you won't tell a single soul about this, especially not Stephanie."

His friend was scaring him just a little, "What have you done? Please tell me you haven't gotten another woman pregnant."

Raising his eyebrow there were many possibilities to where the conversation could go but that had thrown it in an entirely new direction briefly, "I can guarantee that I have not made another woman pregnant and this isn't about me cheating on Stephanie because I haven't, this is kind of about my relationship with Stephanie though, as in it might end."

"What?! Paul give me details before you send my blood pressure through the roof as I thought you two were perfect together."

Picking up his pencil he sketched a little more to put off the inevitable but he had to talk when the pencil was snatched from his hand, "So I applied for a few internships over the summer and haven't heard anything from anybody, or well hadn't, until last week when I received an email from San Francisco State University asking me to Fedex over my portfolio so I did thinking they worked with the one company on like a bonus year or something after my course here is over. I received a phone call from the University not too long ago to offer me a place on one of the courses they are running and to say that I basically had been accepted for the one internship and the two things go hand in hand."

Raising his eyebrow Scott wasn't entirely sure whether he understood what he meant, "So what you are telling me is that you have been accepted onto an internship that runs in partnership with San Francisco State University? When exactly does it all start? How did Stephanie feel about you being up for the internship?"

"She kind of doesn't know anything that has happened in the last week, I didn't want to disappoint her if I didn't get it as the University itself rejected me before. I'm not entirely sure when it starts though, the woman said that she was going to email me all of the details but by the sounds of it it starts pretty much now or as soon as I can get there anyway. Would you look at all of the details with me please? I need to know I am not misunderstanding anything but you need to promise not to tell Stephanie anything yet, not until I know what is going on."

Reaching to grab a piece of toast from the pile he quickly pulled his hand back when Paul slapped it, "Ow, that was mean. You're going to tell her though right? I mean if you are offered a place that starts now you're not going to leave her in the dark will you?"

He wanted to say no but he loved her, he didn't want to hurt her so if he lied to her or kept her in the dark it might be better for them both in the long run.

Reaching across the table Scott smacked him across the head, "Stop it, stop thinking whatever the hell it is that you are thinking because it can't be good. Just show me this email before Sean gets home and gets involved."

Standing up he looked at the table, "Stay here, I need to protect the scene incase Sean gets home."

Waving his hand dismissively he just wanted to see this email.

Picking up his laptop from the desk Paul took it through to the kitchen placing it on the counter behind Scott as he booted it up, "I don't know if she will have email yet but I hope she has. If it isn't there now it will be there at some point tonight."

"If it isn't there now then you can get back to your sketching and I'll get on with my assignment and when it comes in I will look at it for you."

He barely registered what was being said to him as he opened up his mail and saw an email from his contact at Stevens, Lloyd and McKenna so clicking on it as the email he was waiting for hadn't arrived yet he sighed when it really didn't give him any answers, "I have an email from the company I applied to intern at that basically just congratulates me on my successful application, gee so helpful. The email I'm waiting for hasn't arrived yet though sorry."

Standing up Scott pushed the chair back into the table, "No problem, I have work to get on with anyway so just call me when it arrives."

Shutting the lid of his laptop Paul took a seat back at the table to continue with his sketch when his phone beeped:

 _I love you. Call me when you're free, I miss your voice._

Reading the text made him feel like complete shit thinking about leaving her but right now he couldn't talk to her when he didn't know what was going on as she would hear it in his voice and he didn't want to make her worry unnecessarily so he decided to text her back:

 _I love you too. I'm working on a sketch for class a minute that I want to finish before Sean gets home and eats it but I'll call you later._

Sending the text he put his phone back down and picked up his sketch pad and pencil to focus on his sketch.

Reading the text as she received it from Paul she then threw her phone down sending it skidding across the desk only staying on it as Emily caught it before it could fly off, "I know we're studying together and the assignment sucks but don't take it out on your phone."

"It's not the assignment, it's my boyfriend. Last week we said we loved each other and now he is pretty much avoiding me but he said it first so it isn't my fault."

Placing the phone back safely on the desk she wasn't sure what to say as she had noticed that Paul seemed to be acting weird with everyone, "I'm sure there is nothing to it, just give him a chance and talk to him later."

Slamming he pen down Stephanie needed a break, "That's if he doesn't cry off from that too. I'm going to get a drink, want anything?"

"I'll take some water please, I'm parched." Watching Stephanie get up she waited until she was out of the room before she grabbed her own phone to text her own boyfriend:

 _What's Paul's deal? Steph's about to ready to kill him for blowing her off so much._

Sending the text she put her phone out of Stephanie's sight and went back to he assignment whilst she waited for her drink.

Sitting with his assignment in front of him Scott groaned when his cell phone beeped as he was actually making some pretty decent progress. Reading the text he shook his head, "Numskull, stupid numskull." Dropping his phone back to the bed he went back to his assignment as he couldn't achieve anything else until he could read this email for Paul.

It had been a few hours since Paul had last seen anybody, Scott was in his bedroom and Sean hadn't returned home from wherever he was yet but it had allowed him the time to finish the outline and a little of the shading in of his sketch but now his hand was hurting and he was hungry. Because it no longer mattered if Sean came home and ate his project he went to check his laptop to see if the email he was waiting for had arrived and when he saw that it had he took his laptop to Scott's room because he did not have the patience to wait until Scott came out of his bedroom to find out if what he thought was right. Knocking on the door very soon he would know if he had to make a choice between his dream situation and his girlfriend.


	9. Chapter 9

This is for **levesque fan forever** as she asked for it :)

* * *

Putting his laptop aside when there was a knock at the door Scott knew exactly who it was, "Come in Paul."

Pushing the door open Paul kicked it closed behind him, "So I have finished the sketch and finally remembered to check my emails and it's here." Placing the laptop on the bed he began to pace the floor, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to be offered a place that started right now or for it to start when he finished here, either way it was going to result in a hard talk with Stephanie and the potential for him to lose her.

Attempting to read the email was hard when there was somebody pacing up and down the floor, "For fucks sake Paul, sit down so I can concentrate."

Reluctantly sitting down on the end of the bed he just wanted him to finish it, "Sorry, I'm just worried."

"Yeah I know and I'm trying to get through it as fast as I can but I'm trying to make sure I understand it too so just sit still and shut up." Five minutes later and Scott finally felt like he understood what was being said so put the laptop on the bed, "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

Rubbing his face wearily at this point he was willing to go with neither but he wasn't sure that was a option, "Good news first please."

He knew exactly how much his friend was going to hate to know that he was right and he was concerned, "The good news is that you have formally been offered a place on a course at the San Francisco State University and ultimately an internship at the company you applied at, the bad news is that that course is going on right this second and they expect you out there as soon as possible and she wants to know how soon you can get out there."

Collapsing back on the bed Paul put his hands over his face, "Great, just when I get some good news it comes right along with some bad news. What am I meant to do Scott? There is no way Steph will transfer out there with me but I don't want to lose her either."

"Then try and continue the relationship long distance. You will never know what she wants to do until you talk to her and tell her the truth. Talking of your girlfriend though, you are in some serious shit with her because in the words of my girlfriend she is about ready to kill you for blowing her off so much. What possessed you to blow her off?"

Sitting up he slammed his laptop shut, "I was gutless. I felt guilty for keeping her in the dark about this entire thing and I couldn't face her after telling her that I love her. I have no choice now though, I have to make up for being a shit boyfriend over the past week and I have to talk to her and find out what she wants to do now. I will see you later or something."

Scott sat there silently and watched him walk out of the room, he felt bad for him and Stephanie but he should have found out all of the details before he signed himself up. Picking up his laptop he had an assignment to finish, or try to until his next interruption.

Putting his laptop back in his room Paul grabbed his wallet and phone and headed out, he had some making up to do if she would let him.

High-fiving Emily as they finished their assignment Stephanie sat back and relaxed in her chair until the doorbell rang, "Ugh, I guess I will go and get that whilst you clear up your mess."

Emily pouted, "It's not my fault I dropped all of my papers on the floor, fuck off."

Laughing she made her way to the front door but stopped when she pulled it open and saw who was on the other side, "I thought you were going to call me."

Holding out the single red rose towards her he smiled sheepishly, "I know but I owe you an apology and an appearance. Can you spare me some time please?"

Taking the rose from his hands she smiled softly as she sniffed it, "You didn't have to buy me anything though."

"I know, that's why I just bought one because I didn't want to suck up, I just thought if you were going to give me some time it could be a kind of date and if we were going on a kind of date I needed to bring something with me."

Giggling softly she turned around and walked to the kitchen to do something with it so it didn't die expecting him to follow her but when she turned around and he wasn't there she walked back to the front door and frowned seeing him still in the same place, "You could have come in you know."

Shrugging he hadn't even thought about it, "Sorry, I was preoccupied and didn't think about it. What would you like to do? At some point we do need to talk though."

Frowning she hated the word 'talk' as it never ended well in relationships, "If you want we can just stay here and go to my room and I'll kick Em out."

"Your choice."

Grabbing his hand she pulled him inside, "How about you shut up and come inside and give me a kiss."

That was something that he could do so stepping inside quickly he shut the door before he pulled her into his arms and planted a heavy kiss on her lips pressing her up against the wall as he cupped her cheek with his hand.

Moaning against his lips she slid her arms around his neck holding him close until they had to break for air, "Hmm . . . after that you are forgiven for blowing me off."

Wrapping his arms around her waist he held her close, "Let's talk before you forgive me."

Pulling away slowly she didn't like the sound of that, "If you have cheated on me you'd better leave now because otherwise you won't be leaving alive."

"I swear I haven't cheated on you."

Taking his hand she led him through to her room smiling at Emily as she exited, "No interruptions please."

"No screaming please."

Smacking her friend on the arm as she passed she couldn't help but laugh though, "I'll try not to be too loud."

Once they were in her room Paul flopped down on the bed, "Cuddling or talking first?"

Shutting her door she joined him on the bed, "I don't know, I want to cuddle with you but I'm not sure my brain will shut off long enough for me to enjoy the cuddle but we could try it if you want."

"It's whatever you want Steph, I'm just here apologising and knowing I need to be honest with you."

Laying down she cuddled into his side and rested her head on his chest, he said he hadn't cheated so what was the worst that he could say to her?

He didn't know how long they had been laying there silently but it was starting to get to him so reluctantly he sat up against the head of her bed.

When she felt him moving beneath her she moved and watched his movements until he sat up and she took it as her own cue to sit up so doing that she turned to face him and crossed her legs, "What's on your mind?"

Running his fingers through his hair he then reached for her hand holding it in his, "You know how I applied for those internships over the summer?"

Briefly looking down at their hands she looked back up, "Yes, did you get one?"

Nodding his head he felt like shit, "You could say that. Apparently what I didn't realise about the one internship is that it was run in conjunction with a course at a local College or University or whatever they call themselves so if I am to take the internship then I have to transfer from here to that one."

She knew most of the internships he had applied for were in California but she hadn't been with him and didn't know his movements throughout the summer so he could have been applying anywhere, judging by the look on his face though she had a feeling she knew what the answer to her question was going to be, "Where to?"

"San Francisco."

"How long have you known?"

Looking at the clock beside him he mentally tried to do the calculations, "Officially about three or four hours, I have known that something was going on for about a week but I didn't want to mention it because I didn't really know what was going on and I didn't want to disappoint you if the College turned me down for a second time as I applied there to begin with and they said I wasn't good enough."

Moving closer she wanted to hug him but she was getting a weird vibe from him, "You wouldn't have disappointed me if they had said no a second time Paul, it would just mean you weren't meant to go there. What are you going to do about your internship?"

Shrugging his shoulders he looked down, "I don't know. I don't want to lose you but I know it is entirely unfair to ask you to transfer out there with me so I don't know, I might turn it down and think again when College ends and then if we are still together we can make a decision as a couple about where we want to be."

Irritated by the fact that he wasn't look at her she removed her hand from his and moved to straddle his legs lifting his head so he was looking at her, "It's nice of you to say that you can't ask me to transfer out there but I can't ask you to turn it down for me either. If you want to take that internship and you think it will be good for you and is what you are looking for then I think you should take it."

Resting his hands on her hips he hated that she was being so supportive right now, "But what about us?"

Shrugging her shoulders she didn't have an answer to that as she had planned that her life was going to remain here and she didn't know where his career was going to take him, she had managed to block that from her mind up until now as she thought they would just explore their relationship and cross that bridge when it came to it, she just didn't think that bridge would be three months later. It was too soon for her to think about what was next for them so she had to buy herself time, "What about us Paul? You have a decision to make about your future schooling so we have time to think about our future as a couple but until then I was wondering if it would be too selfish to say that we don't need to think about that when we're together and to just enjoy being a couple? I'm not saying don't talk about it, I'm just saying don't make hasty decisions about us because the truth Paul is that I love you."

His hands moved from her hips to her cheeks, "I love you too, so much."

"That's all I need to know Paul, right now that is all that matters."

Leaning closer he pressed his lips against hers, eventually they would have to make a decision but right now she was going to be the only stability he had in his life and he needed that stability.

Closing her eyes as he kissed her she slipped her hands between them and started working on removing his shirt. As she pulled the shirt off over his head tossing it to the side she noticed the questioning look on his face and she smiled sheepishly, "Not in the mood? Sorry, I just thought it would be nice."

His face went from questioning to amused with one raised eyebrow, "Nice? It will be more than nice but are you sure?"

Reaching for the hem of her own shirt she pulled it up over her head and tossed it on the floor, "I'm sure. I'm not doing this because of what you said, I am doing this because it has been a week and I'm fucking horny."

Quickly rolling them over so he was on top he couldn't help but laugh when she screamed out in surprise, "Shhh . . . Emily will think I'm hurting you."

"You are hurting me, you're not kissing me and that's hurting my heart."

Rolling his eyes he smiled at the way her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist as he leant closer to her face, "I do owe you this so I will give you everything you want until you feel I have sufficiently apologised for the last week."

Bucking her hips against him she smirked as he groaned and dropped his head to her shoulder gently biting it quickly blocking out the thoughts of how much longer would she be able to do this with him from her mind, she refused to think about that so when she felt his lips on hers again it was a welcome distraction and gave her something to focus on.


	10. Chapter 10

Paul spent the night at Stephanie's and they only ventured out of the room to share a pizza with Emily before they headed straight back to the room.

Having an early class meant that Paul had to get up and leave early so he tried to slide out of bed without waking her but he failed, "I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to wake you."

Sitting up she reached down and grabbed his shirt from the floor and pulled it on, "It's 'kay, I can get some work done before class."

Looking at her sat there in his shirt as he pulled his jeans on and did them up he shook his head, "You know that's my shirt right?"

Glancing down at herself she blushed, "I'm sorry Paul, I wasn't thinking."

Shaking his head he was going to regret this when he crossed the road to his apartment, "Keep it, I think it looks good on you."

Crawling across the bed as he sat down on the edge of it to put his shoes and socks on she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his shoulder blade, "I think you look good without it. I'm sorry I took up your evening last night and you're probably behind on your work because of it."

Twisting at the waist to look at her he shook his head, "Trust me you didn't keep me from anything, I finished the most important of the sketch I was working on and I had nothing due immediately so you really didn't keep me from anything and I was the one who came here and I wouldn't change a second of it."

Laughing she smacked his back, "I bet you wouldn't. I should let you go though."

Bending back down he finished putting his shoes on before he stood up and reached for his jacket putting it on and doing it up, "Do I say goodbye here or am I getting an escort to the door?"

Standing up she took hold of his hand and led him to the door, "So will you call me later?"

Leaning against the door he nodded, "I will, if I can't find the time to hook up with you, not like that, then I most definitely will call or you can call me, you know how it goes."

Pressing a soft kiss to his lips she wrapped her arms around herself as he opened the door and a blast of cold air hit her, "I love you."

Turning back to face her he smiled, "I love you too. I'm going to shut the door as you look freezing so go in and get warm beautiful and I'll see you later." Pulling the door shut he headed across the road to get a shower and get ready for class.

Once the door was shut Stephanie made her way towards the kitchen to make some coffee and maybe breakfast too.

Sitting down at the table with toast and coffee her mind drifted to what he had told her last night about the internship, she was pretty sure it was a huge deal and she couldn't stand in his way but she wanted him to stay here with her. So absorbed in her thoughts she failed to register that anybody else was awake until she felt a hand on he shoulder and she jumped and screamed.

Jumping back when she screamed Sasha's hand went to her heart, "Jesus Christ Steph, you just scared me half to death."

Putting her piece of toast back on the plate she couldn't eat right now as her heart was going wild, "You're not alone. Where did you come from?"

"My bedroom? I didn't think anybody else was awake so I was creeping around but I need coffee as I had a late night studying and then couldn't sleep. What are you doing up so early?"

Getting up from her seat she moved to make Sasha some coffee, "Paul has an early class so just left."

Sitting down with her coffee as it was passed to her she was getting a strange vibe, "Are things better between the two of you?"

Shrugging her shoulders as she returned to her seat she did need somebody to talk to but she would prefer them both, "Kind of sort of maybe."

The conversation was interrupted by Emily's appearance, "So who is screaming so early in the morning and why?"

Putting his hand up in the air Stephanie felt bad as she looked sleepy, "Guilty as charged, Sasha scared me half to death."

Pulling a chair out beside her Sasha patted it, "Sit down, Steph was about to tell me why things are 'kind of sort of maybe' better with Paul."

She didn't waste any time in jumping in to her story, "He has been offered an internship that starts right away, that internship is in California."

The other girls exchanged shocked looks with neither knowing what to say for the best but being the blunt one Sasha jumped in, "You don't seem excited about a potential move."

"The thing is though that I have planned my entire life out here on the east coast, I haven't even contemplated the idea of not living here as I have a job lined up after College but I don't want to lose him nor do I want to be one of those girlfriend's that stifles her boyfriend's life and tells him he can't do things."

Nudging her friend gently she felt like there was something missing, "But?"

Sighing heavily she picked up he coffee and took a sip of it, "But I really love him and don't want to lose him."

Emily felt so bad for her, she wanted to give her some advice but she had nothing, "What does Paul say? What does he want?"

Shrugging her shoulders it would be so much easier if he had actually told her, "I don't know, I don't think he knows either. When he told me about it he had only known for a few hours so it was still relatively new to him and he seemed unsure about pretty much everything, including taking it. It is such a huge opportunity for him and I don't think he will get a second chance if he turns this down, especially because of me, but I know there is no way I can talk to him about it because I am entirely biased and I don't want to sway him and I feel like that makes me a really bad girlfriend."

Being the more sensitive of the two Emily spoke up, "It doesn't make you a bad girlfriend, it makes you an honest one. I don't think he will rely on you to help him get his answers, he will know that he can't necessarily expect you to not be biased in any way. Don't beat yourself up over this, you two will figure this out over time."

Downing her coffee she abandoned her toast and got up, "I'm going to go shower."

Watching her leave Sasha shook her head waiting until she was out of earshot before she said, "We need to stage an intervention to save either their relationship or their friendship."

"I'll talk to Scott later, see what I can do."

Emily had just got out of class and decided to text her boyfriend:

 _Are you home? Is Paul there? I need to talk to you alone._

Making her way back towards the apartment she wouldn't have to go out of her way if he said he was which made her life so much easier. Pulling her phone from her pocket when it vibrated she opened it seeing her boyfriend's name:

 _Yup, home alone as the others are who knows where. I hope it's not bad but come over._

Knocking on the front door she immediately embraced her boyfriend when it opened, "Boy have I missed you."

Chuckling he kicked the door shut, "It's been like a day but it's nice to see you too." When she pulled back from the embrace he led her into the lounge, "So what's on your mind?"

Dropping her bag beside the couch she took a seat, "So I needed someone to talk to about Paul and Steph."

"He did tell her about the internship huh?"

Surprised he eyes widened, "Yes, you know?"

Nodding he looked at her strangely, "We are house-mates. He had me check out the email with the details in to make sure he hadn't misunderstood though so that's how I know. Why do you want to talk about them though? Did they fight and we need to put them back together?"

"God no, he spent the night at ours."

Arriving home Paul felt guilty as he had spoken to two Professors and his parents and they had all said that it was an amazing opportunity and he should take the internship which meant a difficult conversation with Stephanie. Slowly opening the front door he wanted to avoid everybody if it was possible so he needed to be silent on his approach to his room but he stopped where he was when he heard Scott's voice, "If the two of them are on good terms then what do we need to talk about?"

Feeling guilty about betraying Stephanie's trust she raked her fingers through her hair, "Stephanie doesn't know I am here saying this but I needed advice on how to help her. She said she loves Paul a lot but has always seen her life on the east coast because she has a job lined up after College has finished and she just never imagined she would be anywhere else. She doesn't want to lose him though and she doesn't want to be one of those girlfriends that doesn't support their boyfriend and she knows this is huge for him so doesn't want to make him feel like he has to turn this down for her so she doesn't know how to be supportive about his decision without seeming selfish or like she is swaying him."

Well he could definitely see why she needed some help, "Well I have no answers, this is just something that they are going to have to work through on their own but maybe she should not get involved until he has made his decision and then she can't be accused of swaying him?"

Opening the door Paul quietly made his way back out of the house, he didn't know where his life was going to take him but if he chose San Francisco then no matter what he was going to lose her because she would never move out to be with him, even after College, and he couldn't guarantee he would ever move back home. Turning left he needed some air and some time to think so just went walking.

"I guess she has no choice but to stay out of it. They are so perfect together, it would be a crime if they broke up and I swear it means there is no hope for the rest of us."

Taking hold of his girlfriend's hands he tugged them gently pulling her closer, "Every relationship has a different path to navigate and just because they might break up now it doesn't mean they won't when College ends as things change, plans change and people change. We won't mention this conversation to anybody though and then neither of our friend's will know we were discussing them behind their back."

Nodding her head she moved so she could lean against him, "I'm down with that."

Paul had no idea how long he had been walking for but he found himself stood outside an office supply shop and it gave him an idea so stepping inside he went straight for what he needed and then he had himself a massive project to get on with.

Once he had finished his shopping he made his way back to the apartment and this time wasn't quiet as he entered, "I'm home."

Springing apart from her boyfriend at the sound of the voice she smacked him as he burst out laughing at her, "Asshole."

Walking into the lounge Paul raised his eyebrow, "What's going on?"

Emily pointed at her boyfriend, "He's an asshole and is laughing at me."

When he managed to compose himself from his laughter he wiped at his eyes and pointed at his girlfriend, "She jumped away from me the second she heard you were home like you are her Father. What's in the bag?"

Shaking his head at the two of them they were an odd couple but worked so well, "As long as you keep everything NC-17 and higher in your bedroom you can cuddle on the couch as much as you like but as for the bag it is a secret, I have a project to get on with."

Raising his eyebrow Scott tried to peak inside the bag but had no luck, "It's not for class is it?"

Turning around he walked out of the room without answering him, this was a project meant for just one person and he wasn't going to chance anybody spoiling it.

"That project is so for Stephanie."

Emily nodded, "Yes it is but if he wants to keep it secret then that's his choice to make."

Before he began getting everything together for his special project he wanted to send an email before he lost his bottle and changed his mind so opened his laptop he hit 'Reply' on the email:

 _Dear Ms Lawrence,_

 _After much consideration over the past twenty four hours and after discussions with a number of different people I would be honoured to take up the place at San Francisco State University._

 _With it being so close to winter break now I think it would be in my best interest if I didn't begin studying with you until you return after that time so it gives me time to set up accommodation and moving across the country. Any help you could give in regards to finding accommodation would be greatly appreciated but I look forward to hearing from you._

 _Many thanks,_

 _Paul Levesque_

Hitting 'Send' he sat back and gulped, he had just set the wheels in motion for his life to take a completely different turn but now all he had to do was tell his girlfriend what he was doing.


	11. Chapter 11

It had been a few weeks since Paul had accepted his place at San Francisco State University and he still hadn't told anybody, especially Stephanie. He wanted to tell her, he wanted to be honest with her but he also didn't want to taint the last few weeks that he would have being in her company, he knew it was selfish but he loved her.

It was the last night that the six of them were going to be together until the new year because classes had ended and Sean and Sasha were headed home early the next morning but they decided to go out to a club one final time.

Sitting at a booth they all had a drink in front of them and Paul decided to take that moment to celebrate their friendship, "I want to propose a toast." Waiting until everybody took hold of their glass or bottle he then began, "I would like to propose a toast to the best group of friends anybody could wish to have, may life treat us all kindly and let us all live happy and healthy lives."

Sasha laughed a little, "I think you're going soft in your old age but I'll drink to that."

There was a chorus of 'here here' as they clinked glasses and took a drink before the girls slipped away to dance.

As soon as they were alone Scott moved closer to Paul, "You took the internship huh? When do you start?"

Making sure none of the girls were around he nodded his head, "Yeah I did. I start in January but I didn't want to tell anybody, I haven't even told Stephanie."

Scott and Sean both looked at him like he was crazy until Scott spoke up, "You're going to cross the country and tell her then that you won't be back?"

Rolling his eyes he shook his head, "No, I'm not that cruel, I was going to talk to her tomorrow night, I just haven't quite figured out what I am going to do about our relationship yet because I want to do right by her."

"Don't leave it too long."

The rest of the evening passed without incident and they all headed home for the night.

Laying in bed staring at the ceiling Paul couldn't get Scott's words out of his mind about not leaving it too long to tell her about his move. Throwing his covers back he got out of bed and flicked the light on before went over to the top and picked up a book that was laying there and started flipping through the pages, he hadn't made a decision but he needed to talk to her:

 _How about you and I have a final date of the year tomorrow evening? Let me know asap so I can organise it._

Putting his phone back down on the book he crawled back into bed to try and get some sleep.

Waking up early to help Sasha get organised to go to the airport Stephanie briefly checked her phone after she got out of the shower and smiled seeing one from her boyfriend:

 _That would be perfect. Let me know the time, place and dress code. Love you xxxx_

After sending her boyfriend the text she set about getting dressed to get on with her day.

It was just after seven when she knocked on the front door, pulling at the hem of her dress she hadn't worn this before and now she knew why because it was awfully short. When the door opened she smiled, "Good evening handsome."

Smirking he didn't hide the fact that he was checking her out but it sent a pang to his heart knowing this would be the last time he saw her in the flesh for a while, "Come in, you look absolutely stunning."

Stepping inside she hugged him and kissed him softly, "I'm glad you think so."

Shutting the door he took her hand and led her through to the kitchen where there was a candlelit dinner set up, "Man I hope this food is edible, if not I will order take-out okay?"

Smiling she nodded and shrugged off her jacket before she took a seat at the table, "Being with you is all I need tonight Paul."

After a surprisingly delicious dinner Paul piled the dishes in the sink before he snuffed out the candle and led her through to his bedroom, "Not being weird, just incase Scott comes home so we can have some privacy."

Kicking off her shoes she climbed onto the bed and got comfortable being mindful of her short skirt, "So you don't seem yourself."

That was the opening Paul needed to discuss everything with her so took a seat in front of her and took hold of her hands, "I haven't been telling you the truth recently. I made a decision about San Francisco a few weeks ago and never told you because I didn't want to ruin these past few weeks and I'm glad I did it because it has all been perfect. The truth is Steph that I have accepted the internship and the place at the University out there, it is the right move for me to make."

Gasping, Stephanie's eyes widened and tears pooled in her eyes, she couldn't believe that he was leaving, "W . . . what does that mean for . . . us?" She was happy for him . . . mostly, she just couldn't bear the thought of losing him and as much as she had fooled herself into thinking that even if he took the place they would be okay she wasn't sure any more.

Seeing the look in his eyes broke his heart and although he had thought that he would do this seeing her so upset made him convinced it was the right decision to make, "I love you with all of my heart . . ."

She couldn't help the tears that started to fall as she knew where this was going, "I . . . love . . . you too."

He promised himself that he wouldn't get upset but seeing her crying he found tears falling from his own eyes, "As much as I love you I can't ask you to wait for me, you deserve a boyfriend who is there for you all of the time and not living on the other side of the country. I can't guarantee I will come back here when my internship ends and I know that you have a job lined up here so I wouldn't even ask you to think about joining me."

"How do you know?"

Wiping at her cheeks he wanted so badly to pull her into his arms but he didn't feel like it was his place any longer, "Nobody told me, I just know. I swear that nobody told me though so please don't be mad at anybody."

"I don't care about anybody but you Paul, I don't want to lose you."

Unable to take it any longer he pulled her across the bed and into his lap holding her close, "I don't want to lose you either, I just think that in the long run it will be better to end things now before you start to resent me."

Holding on tightly she buried her face in his neck not wanting to let go and making this real.

Rubbing her back gently it felt good having her in his arms for this one last time, "So I made you something before I decided that breaking up would be the best thing to do but now I don't know if I should give it to you because it was meant to be something to remember our relationship by."

Every time she looked at it it would probably break her heart all over again but she still wanted it, "Can I have it anyway please?"

Nodding his head he slid her off his lap before he got up from the bed to retrieve it from the side. Walking back to the bed he placed it in her lap, "I hope you like it."

Picking the book up she smiled softly at the cover before she opened it and started to flick through the pages, there were all sorts of memories from their dates including the picture he had drawn on their very first date. She didn't realise she was crying again until she saw a tear drop onto the page so she quickly wiped at her face, "It's perfect, thank you."

Smiling he found it difficult to draw the line between friends and boyfriend and girlfriend and found himself resting his chin on her shoulder as he reached in front of her and placed a jewellery box on top of the now closed book, "And there's this too but this is your actual Christmas present."

"You don't have to give it to me, we're not dating now."

Shrugging his shoulders he moved around a little, "Eh, I still like you so I think you should have it."

Opening the box she smiled brightly when she saw a heat shaped inside locket. Taking the necklace out of the box she noticed that on the one side of the locket the letter 'S' was engraved and when she turned it over she saw the letter 'P' and she gulped as fresh tears pooled in her eyes.

Seeing her reaction to the necklace he reached to take it off her, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have given it to you, it was selfish."

Keeping hold of the necklace she shook her head, "Don't you dare." Taking a deep breath as he released his hold on the necklace she opened the locket and gulped as she looked at the pictures on the inside, one was of them together and one was of just him.

Before she could jump to conclusions about his ego he decided to explain, "The idea behind the necklace when I bought it was that the 'P' side of the necklace was about me and I thought a picture of me in it and that would mean I was always close to you heart and the 'S' side could just be us together."

Unable to stop herself she slapped his arm as more tears fell, "Fuck you for making me cry **again** , I am a blubbering mess tonight."

"I'm sorry Steph, I really didn't think this through properly."

Taking a deep breath she held the necklace out to him, "Put it on me please."

Gulping as he took it from her he felt awful for how he had made her feel and she still apparently liked him, "What side close to you?"

"I want the P close to my chest."

Undoing the clasp he carefully put the chain around her neck and did it back up again, "So . . . uh, what now?"

Turning around to look at him she shrugged trying to play it off as nonchalance but truthfully she just wanted to be close to him one last time, "Well considering we are likely never to see each other again after tonight as we both leave for home tomorrow could I stay the night and we just cuddle please?"

"Anything you want. Would madam like one of my shirts to wear?"

Giggling she nodded, "If you have one unpacked please?"

It was at that moment he realised he didn't, "Would the one I'm wearing do?"

Nodding her head it would do nicely as it would smell of him, "Yes."

Standing up he stripped off his shirt and threw it at her, "There ya go."

Taking his shirt she stood up and undid her dress and pulled the straps off her shoulders and let it pool around her feet before she pulled his shirt on and then picked up her dress placing it tidily out of the way before she climbed into bed.

Stripping to his boxers Paul climbed into bed beside Stephanie and lay down relieved when she moved closer to him and lay her head on his chest holding him close, holding her he lifted his head and kissed the top of hers before he laid his head back down, "Goodnight beautiful."

He didn't know how long he had been lying there but he thought she was asleep so he lifted his head again pressing another kiss to the top of her head, "I love you now, forever and always, I will never forget you and you will always be in my heart." Laying his head back down he closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep.

She couldn't sleep but laying close to him made it all better, until she heard him say those words and then it just made it all painful again and she wondered when the pain would actually end.

The next morning Stephanie was up and dressed before he woke up so she slipped out of the apartment with his keys and picked up his Christmas present before she returned to his apartment returning his keys and placed his Christmas present on the top of his bags before she walked over to the bed and gave him one last lingering kiss before she left him.

As she exited his bedroom she was struggling to maintain her composure so bumping into Scott was the last thing, "Can't talk, got to go."

Scott saw her walking towards him, he saw the pain on her face and noticed that she was alone which meant that he had ended it, "It's okay, he'll understand."

Paul woke up to the sound of the front door shutting and realising he was alone he scrambled out of bed to try and catch her but when he opened his door and saw Scott's face he stopped, "What?"

"Don't do it to her or yourself, just let her go."

Sighing heavily he collapsed against the wall, "I want to redo the last six months so bad, I want to take back my intern application and I just want to stay here with her forever."

Scott felt bad for him but he knew he didn't mean it, "No you don't, you're just hurting, it will get better."

"How? I have lost the love of my life because of a selfish decision I have made, how will it get better?"

Racing across the road before anybody could catch up with her she fumbled with her key as she tried getting it in the lock succeeding on the third attempt, pushing the door open she quickly shut it behind her again leaning back against it as the tears started to fall and she slid down to the floor, she felt like her life was falling apart and she didn't know how she was going to get through it.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm so sorry there has been such a delay in me updating this fic but I hope this makes up for it.

* * *

 _Six years later_

Stepping off the plane Paul breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at his watch he realised that he was running late so he quickly made his way through arrivals and grabbed his suitcase and went to hail a cab.

Knocking on the front door he took a deep breath not sure exactly what reception he would get so when the door opened he put a smile on his face, "Hi."

"Hi? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

Groaning he shook his head, "Will, 'I'm sorry' be enough for you to let me in?"

When they stepped aside he quickly entered the house, "Nice house you've got here."

"Thanks. You would have seen it sooner if you had actually come when you said you would."

"Will you cut the guy some slack? He apologised didn't he?"

Paul smiled, "Yeah Scott, I would listen to your wife if I were you." Walking over to the woman he hugged her tightly, "It's good to see you again Emily, you're looking well."

Returning the hug she glared at her husband over his shoulder, "You too. Would you like a drink or anything to eat whilst you wait for dinner?"

"I would love a beer please, a couple all the way over on the plane definitely tested my nerves."

"One beer coming up. Take a seat and I will be back with it in a moment."

Scott sat down watching his friend as he walked around the lounge looking at the pictures they had scattered around the room, "So it's been a while."

Finally taking a seat he nodded his head, "I know, it's been a really long time since I have spent any time on this coast."

"Yeah, you couldn't even be bothered to make it for our wedding. Thanks so much for the late notice that you wouldn't be there by the way, I really appreciated it."

He should have expected the hostility, "If I could have done anything about the late notice trust me I would have, hell if I had had my way I would have been here for your wedding."

Eyeing his friend suspiciously he had thought that the reason he had skipped out on the wedding was because he didn't want to see her, "So you didn't skip our wedding so you wouldn't bump into her?"

Walking back into the room with the beer Emily smacked her husband on the arm, "He has only just arrived, stop giving him the third degree."

Taking the beer from her he took a long drink hoping that the alcohol got into his system quickly as he had wanted to avoid that conversation not have it within minutes of arriving, "It's okay Emily, he has every right to be mad at me but I swear to you that I didn't skip your wedding because I didn't want to see her. I didn't skip the wedding for any reason other than I had to work but I do bring a peace offering with me." Standing up he went over to his suitcase and pulled a card from the front pocket and handed it to the couple, "This comes from my client, the one who forced me to miss the wedding, he got caught up in a meeting and then there were issues with the design that we spent the entire weekend working out and I was forced to miss the wedding because nobody else would cover for me because he wouldn't let them. That night where I missed my flight he saw my case as we left the office together and when I explained how I was meant to be spending my weekend he felt guilty and he gave me that to give to you. He said that you can choose any week over the winter you like and you will get to spend it in his cabin in Aspen, I think there is more to it but that is probably explained in the envelope but he said when you call to mention my name."

"I still think you wanted to avoid her."

Hitting her husband again Emily shook her head, "Stop it Scott. It is clear that he was working so just be thankful that he is here now and be grateful to him for the extra present."

Smiling sheepishly he didn't want to get into trouble, "I am thankful and grateful and all of that good stuff, I just don't want to have to dance around the subject or be afraid of mentioning her name incase I upset him."

Paul didn't want to dance around the subject all night either so he decided to just come out with it, "How is she? Honestly."

Scott was going to defer to his wife on this one, "I'll let Emily tell you."

Glaring at her husband she didn't even know what to say to him, "She's busy, I don't see a lot of her."

Unable to stop himself Scott snorted, "Yeah busy, that's one word for it."

Elbowing him she sent a glare his way, the last thing she wanted to do was to reopen old wounds for Paul.

Looking between the two it was like there was something they weren't telling him, "What do you mean Scott? I asked the question so just give me an honest answer please."

This can of worms was one she had hoped to avoid opening but as it had been opened she may aswell be honest about it, "Sightings of her are very rare, she always has an excuse as to why she can't do coffee, dinner, a movie, a night out, she seems to work non-stop. When the two of you split up she pretty much threw herself into her school work and when she wasn't doing school work she was interning at her soon to be job and since she left College she is working all of the time and I had to practically drag her kicking and screaming away from her office just so she would get her dress fitted for the wedding."

He always knew that she was a workaholic, he just had no idea that she would go to that extreme, "So I made her become a workaholic that needs a serious intervention? Surely her boyfriend/s over the years have pushed her to slow down."

"HA! Paul you're delusional if you think that she has even looked at another guy since you and don't tell me that you have looked at another woman as I know you'd be lying."

Shrugging his shoulders this wasn't about him, "I've been busy."

Emily hated to admit it but seeing the guy in front of her it was hard to deny that he was clearly still holding a torch for his ex, "And if you asked her she would tell you that exact same thing. Are you going to look her up when you're in the area?"

There were many reasons why his answer was going to be no, why it had to be no, but he just wasn't going to tell them all of them, "I don't have time. I have literally flown in tonight, I have to see my family in the morning then I am meeting my sister for lunch before I have a meeting which will probably last long into the evening and then I have meetings all day the next day and then I fly out that evening. I don't even have time to see Sean on my flying visit but maybe next time."

Standing up Emily motioned to the kitchen, "Why don't you both come and sit in the kitchen, dinner should be done any minute now."

Paul enjoyed dinner with Scott and Emily before he made his way to the hotel to get some sleep as he had an early morning the next day.

Laying in bed he stared at the ceiling, he wanted to go to sleep but he couldn't stop thinking about Stephanie because he felt guilty, he felt like he destroyed her happiness for dating her and then walking away from her.

Vince yawned as he walked out of his office, he had spent a lot longer than he had expected going over a couple of contracts and preparing some information for Stephanie as there was a meeting the following day that he was trusting her to handle by herself.

Flicking off lights as he went he stopped when he saw a light coming from beneath his daughter's office door, he would have to speak with her in the morning about not wasting electricity and leaving lights on so he opened her office door so he could turn the lights off and go home but he stopped dead when he saw her still sat at her desk working, "Stephanie? You do know it is . . ." Looking at his watch he groaned as his wife was going to kill him, "You do know that it is after eleven right? You should be at home and maybe even asleep by now."

Rolling her eyes at her Father's dramatics she just shook her head, "I'm a grown woman Dad, I know what I'm doing."

"I never said that you didn't know what you were doing, I was just saying as a Father you should not still be working right now. As your Father and your boss I'm just going to stand here and wait as you shut your computer off so I can escort you out to your car so you go home and you can go to bed. You have a big and important meeting tomorrow and I want you at your best."

Rubbing her temples she was tired and easily irritated so she didn't want to be fussed over, "I'm fine Dad, I will be going home soon . . ."

"Yes, within the next ten minutes soon so get moving before I just unplug the computer and drag you out of here." He had cut his daughter off talking because he knew that she would just give him excuses.

She knew her Dad and she knew that he wasn't kidding when he said that he would just unplug the computer so she reluctantly saved her work and turned it off.

Reaching her car with her Dad she unlocked it, "Thank you for the escort but I really would have been fine finishing my work and then going home."

Shaking his head he was beginning to wonder exactly how late his daughter was working each night, "Yes well I think eleven o'clock at night is plenty late enough to be working and anything left can wait until the next day because I don't want you getting sick. Now go home, get something to eat and get some sleep."

Hugging him she kissed his cheek, "Yes Dad." Climbing in the car she contemplated just circling around the block and going back to work but it was too much like hard work so she may aswell go home.

The next morning Vince read over his comments and suggestions for Stephanie's meeting before he printed them off to personally present to her. Walking out of his office he smiled politely at her Secretary as he passed but stopped and walked back to her desk, "Can I ask you something Father to daughter's secretary and not boss to employee please?"

Stopping what she was doing her attention was fully on him because she was concerned, well more concerned than she had already been, "Yes Sir. What can I do for you?"

Briefly glancing at the closed door he looked back at her Secretary, "Exactly how late is she working most days?"

Gulping it looked like he had the same concerns that she did, "I honestly don't know but I would guess at pretty late. She hasn't been working like this all of the time but for the last few weeks or so she has not left at the same time as me or earlier than me on any one night. I was speaking with a friend in security on Thursday on an unrelated matter and they happened to mention in passing that she must be snowed under with work as it had been at least midnight each night last week that she had left. I am worried about her, I just don't know what to say to her. Why do you ask?"

Hearing how much his daughter was working greatly concerned him as she should not have that much work and be under that much pressure that she was having to work so late, "I asked because last night I didn't finish working until gone eleven and she was still working then and she didn't leave without me threatening to just unplug her computer first. I really need to find out why she is working so late at the minute because that is not good." Walking into his daughter's office he placed the notes down on the desk in front of her, "Are you going to be okay to conduct this meeting today?"

Staring at her Dad like he was crazy she nodded her head, "Of course I will, why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe all of the hours that you are working. What is going on Stephanie? I am asking as a concerned Father and not as a boss."

Her hand instinctively went to the necklace around her neck playing with the charm, "Nothing, I just want to make sure it is all right."

Raising his eyebrow he didn't believe her, "There is making sure things are right and then there is working yourself into the ground."

How could she tell her Dad that she didn't want to be at home because when she was at home she was lonely and when she was lonely her mind went to thoughts of him and then she was just lonely and miserable. Raking her fingers through her hair she sat back, "It's all important Dad, whether you think I'm working myself into the ground or not I'm turning in good work and that is all that matters."

"No, what matters to me is that you are healthy and happy and right now you are only one of the two and it isn't happy and don't you even try and lie to me and tell me otherwise. I still don't understand why you don't go out and find yourself a boyfriend. You are young, beautiful, successful and smart, any guy would be lucky to have you."

"Maybe I don't want just any guy." Standing up she couldn't stay there and do that right now, "I need a drink." Brushing past her Dad she hurried out of the room needing air and space before she completely lost it and she didn't need that right now as she had to prepare for her meeting later.

Watching his daughter leave the room he was concerned, very concerned. Exiting the room behind her he stopped by her Secretary's desk again, "Please keep an eye on her, I'm concerned and I need you to watch her."

Nodding her head slowly it was a strange request but one she was more than happy to follow as she wasn't just her boss but she considered her a friend too, "Of course Sir, I will keep a very close eye on her."

"Good, thank you. Have a good day." Making his way back to his own office he couldn't get her off of his mind. He couldn't remember the last time she had had a boyfriend or even gone on more than one date with a man, he knew a man wasn't the answer to all of his problems with her but maybe a man was behind all of his problems with her. Times like this he almost wished he had two sons because his son was not causing him half as many headaches as his daughter was.


	13. Chapter 13

Looking at her watch Lynn quickly got up from her seat and knocked on Stephanie's office door.

Groaning at the knock at her door Stephanie was convinced it was her Dad checking up on her again, "Yes?"

Opening the door she quickly stepped inside, "I'm going out for lunch today because I'm meeting up with my brother whilst he is on his flying visit to town. Do you want me to get you lunch before I leave or anything?"

"No I'll be fine, I'll get my own thank you. Can you please be back a little before two though, just in case my appointment arrives early I really don't want him to be left wandering around."

"Don't worry, your appointment won't arrive before I get back because your appointment is with my brother so he'll just be coming with me when I come back to work."

That was a lot of new information for Stephanie because she didn't even know she had a brother or what his name was, "I see. Have fun then and I look forward to meeting your brother."

Smiling brightly she waved at her, "Thanks. Enjoy your lunch."

Watching her Secretary practically skip out of her office Stephanie pulled up her calendar and noted that the meeting was with Chris Lloyd from Stevens, Lloyd and McKenna Design which meant it was one of the owners but her Secretary was far too young to have a brother who owned a large graphic design company. Rubbing her temples she was giving herself a headache just thinking about it so decided to go and get lunch instead.

Arriving at the restaurant Lynn walked straight in, "Hi, is the table for Levesque here?"

The server nodded his head, "Yes he is Ma'am. Please follow me."

Following him through the restaurant she was so happy when her eyes connected with her brother's and he stood up to greet her as she wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tightly, "It's so good to see you."

Wincing at the tight hold she had on him he gently prised her arms from around his neck, "Please let me breathe, this is the second near death hug I have had today."

Slapping his chest she glared at him, "Well maybe if you came home more often we wouldn't hug the life out of you when you did appear. So what is the deal with this late notice short visit anyway?"

They both took a seat at the table and he picked up his menu, "They seem to be giving me some more responsibility because this is really a feeling out trip to see if there is a possibility for getting some work on the east coast as there is apparently potential to open an office here."

This is the first she knew of them opening an office over here, "What do you mean there is potential to open an office here? Are you telling me that you might actually move back to this side of the country?"

Nodding his head he knew he had said too much, "You **have** to keep it a secret though, I don't want to get Mom's hopes up because it might not happen but one of the owners wants to move back to this side of the country as both his and his wife's parents have failing health and they want to be closer to home so I think that if any offers of business come out of this then they will seriously look at opening an office here."

"Would you ask to be transferred out here if they do?"

He hadn't even thought about it, he loved it on the west coast but he missed his friends and family like crazy, "Maybe, I don't know."

"Well selfishly I want you to move back here but I will support you if you stay out there."

Smiling softly that was why he loved his sister, she was always honest with him.

The two of them silently picked out what they wanted to eat before they put their menus on the table.

Her Mom always told her never to bother her brother about his love life but this was the only time that she could and he couldn't "accidentally" end the call and get out of it, "So when are you going to get a girlfriend exactly? It has been six years that you have been there and we have not heard you mention a woman at all."

This was one conversation he hated the idea having, he didn't want to be honest with her because he didn't want some shitty advice that made him feel worse about his life, more so than he already did anyway.

Silence was never a good response, "Paul?"

Rolling his eyes it looked like silence wasn't going to get him out of it, "I don't know."

"You don't know because you don't want one? Do you want a boyfriend instead? You know we don't care either way right? We just want you to be happy."

Sighing he rubbed his face wearily, "I don't know when I'll get a girlfriend because I am just not looking at the minute."

He was being incredibly vague and she was beginning to think she had missed something, "Was there a girlfriend in the past that you still hold a candle for?"

Snorting he shookhis head, "Candle? It's more like a bonfire. She was my best friend, we became friends with benefits and then we began to date . . . and then I got the offer for the internship."

She was incredibly confused as she hadn't even heard mention of a girlfriend back then, "So six years ago you were dating your best friend and then you got the internship and what happened with her?"

Playing with the tablecloth he didn't know how to explain it because he never did figure out why he did what he did, "Honestly I was going to either ask her to come out with me right then or ask her to go long distance and to think about moving out to be with me once she graduated but then I overheard one of her best friends talking to one of my friends and she said that my then girlfriend already had a job lined up on the east coast so I broke it off with her."

"You broke it off with her because you didn't know if or when you would return back here and because she had a job lined up? Did you even give her a choice?"

Sighing heavily this was seriously painful to talk about, "Not really no, I didn't want her to end up resenting me by making her choose so I thought I would make it easy on her and call it off. I saw Scott last night and his wife is one of my ex's best friends still and they said that she threw herself into her school work after I left and now they never see her, she is always working and too busy for pretty much everything."

Lynn couldn't help but laugh, "Wow, she sounds so much like my boss. I had a conversation with my boss' boss this morning who is also her Father and he was saying he is really worried about her because she is just working non-stop. Back to your story though, have you spoken to her since you left?"

"You know my phone got thrown in the sea and I lost everything and had to change my number but nobody would give me her number and I did try looking her up but there were a few people with her name and I didn't know exactly where she was from so it was impossible. I know I should move on from her, I just don't know how to."

She would like to give him some really good big sister advice but she didn't have any, "You've pretty much got two choices, beg somebody to give you her number and talk to her or just forget about her and find somebody new."

Rolling his eyes that was the worst advice ever, "Thanks for nothing Lynn, that was worst advice I have ever been given seeing as there is potential that I am about to move cross country **again**."

Deciding to change the subject before she got him angry before the meeting she figured she could always try and get her name out of him later and find a way to get her number so he could decide for himself what to do.

After finishing their lunch the two made their way back to her work, "So before we go in please tell me what she is like. I really would like to be prepared if she is some old dragon who breathes fire."

Snorting she ignored the strange looks from the passers by, "She's not old or a dragon. If I were to guess I would say she is of a similar age to you but she is beautiful and head strong however she is polite and easy to get along with. This is her first really big meeting that her Dad has trusted her to conduct by herself so I'm pretty sure she is petrified about it so please be gentle with her."

As they walked through the front doors of 'McMahon Enterprises' she was going to be in good company as he was pretty petrified too.

Escorting him up to the floor she motioned to the seats by the door, "Take a seat a minute, she might not be ready for you."

Nodding his head he sat on one of the chairs lined up against the wall and placed his bag between his legs, he had done some brief sketching on the outline they'd been given but it was only general ideas and he could tweak them as he learned more.

Knocking on the office door Lynn pushed it open, "Hey. I'm back with my brother so when you're ready I'll let him in."

Deciding to just get it over with she stood up and brushed down her skirt, "You may aswell do it now before I lose my bottle and jump out of the window."

"We're on the fourth floor."

"I know but that is how scared I am."

Laughing softly the matching nerves that the two of them had was kind of cute. Exiting the room again briefly she motioned to her brother, "She will see you now."

Standing up he brushed down his suit jacket before he picked up his bag and followed his sister into the room stopping dead when he saw who was in front of him, this could not be real.

Lynn noticed how shocked Stephanie looked when her brother entered which was intriguing, "Paul this is my boss . . ."

Paul didn't even let her finish, "Stephanie."

Her head snapped to the side to look at him and she was confused as he looked shocked, "How did you know? Her name isn't even on the door yet."

"Remember that bonfire? This would be her."

Looking back and forth between the two of them she didn't believe it, "Stephanie do you really know him?"

Nodding her head she didn't really know what to say as her hand went to the necklace hanging around her neck, "Yes, yes I do.

"Well if you two know each other I will leave you to it." Leaving the room she shut the door behind her allowing them to get over their shock in private.

When the door shut behind him Paul decided to break the silence, "You look well."

She felt like this was all a dream. So many nights she had imagined him appearing in front of her and here he was and she didn't know what to say or how to react, "Umm . . . thanks. California living seems to agree with you."

He thought he had gotten to the point where he wouldn't be so speechless around her but he was wrong, "I guess. What is with the necklace that you are playing with?"

Her hand dropped from her necklace not even realising what she was doing, "It's just something an ex gave me so he would always be close to my heart."

The second she said the word 'ex' it was like a punch to the gut but then when she mentioned about them always being close to her heart it sounded like the one he had given her, "He must be a pretty shitty guy to let you go."

Shrugging her shoulders she looked at the floor before she slowly lifted her gaze until she was looking into his eyes, "I don't think he was, I think he had good intentions."

Staring back into his eyes the words were out of his mouth before he thought about them, "He did, the very best. He wanted the best for you and didn't want you to feel guilty about making a choice that wasn't him."

Gulping she blinked rapidly trying to fight off the tears threatening to fall. Deciding to change the subject before this turned into something it shouldn't be she focussed on work and why he was here, "Your name is not Chris Lloyd."

Taking a deep breath he couldn't help but feel hurt by the change in subject, "That it isn't. He couldn't make it so they sent me on this flying visit, I hope you don't mind."

"Being notified first would have been nice but these things happen and there is nothing we can do about it now. Take a seat and we will get started."

Taking a seat he opened his bag and pulled out his sketchpad and a couple of pieces of paper and placed them on the desk, "I was told you were looking at changing your logo making it more modern and up-to-date so when I was on the plane I worked on these rough sketches to pass some time just so you had an idea of the kind of work we can do for you but obviously they can be scrapped and working together we can start over on something you are looking for."

Picking up the pieces of paper they were very Paul and looked similar to the work in the book he had given her before he had left, the same book she looked at most nights. Rubbing her face she needed to stop thinking about that and focus on her job, "These aren't bad actually for first attempts when you didn't know anything about the company. Let's talk and see if there is anything else you can come up with for me to put in front of the board."

The two of them put their heads down and began working on potential ideas for a new logo.


	14. Chapter 14

Stephanie and Paul had been working hard for well over an hour when suddenly her office door burst open and she nearly screamed with fright as she had been so focussed on the work in front of her that it scared her. When she looked up she frowned seeing her Father stood there and her confidence immediately plummeted, "Dad, what a pleasant surprise. Paul this is my Father Vince McMahon, he is the owner and Chairman here. Vince, meet Paul Levesque from Stevens, Lloyd and McKenna Design, he is here to sketch a new logo for the company."

Vince nodded his head and moved over to the desk silently picking up one of the sketches, "Are these what you have done?"

Paul had stood up when she had begin to introduce them but her boss apparently wasn't interested in shaking his hand however he remained on his feet holding his sketchpad, "Yes Sir. Some of them are incredibly rough sketches and some are more recent ones I have done here whilst talking with Stephanie about what you want. They are really only rough sketches so that you can get an idea of what I imagine from the brief I have been given. Any of them that you like can be worked on further to polish them up and if you decide that you want to go with us then we can work on it until it is perfect for you."

He was unwilling for him to know that he was actually impressed so Vince just nodded his head, "That information is useful, thank you. I will allow you to get back to it now, it was very nice to meet you." With that said he breezed out of the office shutting the door behind him.

Paul stood there absolutely confused as he watched him walk out of the room, "Is he normally like that?"

Stephanie couldn't help but be irritated by her Dad's behaviour, it was hardly the most professional looking but she would take that up with him after, "I apologise for his behaviour but that is pretty much how he always is. So let's get back to this."

Returning to his seat he sensed that there was more to the story of Stephanie and her Dad than she was letting on but he basically didn't know her any longer so it wasn't his place to intrude and ask. He shuffled a couple of papers about on the desk looking for something specific before he looked back down at his sketch pad to finish off what he was doing before he passed it off to her for her to look over.

Satisfied with the sketches they both agreed that the meeting should come to a close even though neither of them actually wanted the meeting to ever end. They both wanted to remain in each others company for as long as possible as they didn't know when, if ever, they would see each other again.

He was reluctant to put his sketchpad away but he had no use for it. Once it was back in his bag and he had made sure that he had everything he stood up, "Thank you very much for meeting with me today and I hope that something that we have sketched meets your board's approval."

Why did the meeting have to end? Couldn't she pause time and keep him here with her for just a little big longer? She knew that the answer to both question was no but she didn't like it, she stood up and ran her hands over her skirt nervously, "Is it going to end like that?"

Taken back by her comment he didn't know how else to end it with her. There were boundaries and he couldn't cross them as he kind of wanted them to get this job as he found himself wanting to come back home, "No? I don't know how to end this. On the one hand you're my . . . friend, but then on the other hand this is a business meeting and I don't want to overstep my mark and ruin the chance of working with the company."

"I think I can stretch to a hug and not call sexual harassment on you." She added a cheeky smile on the end so that he would know that she was teasing him.

He bent down and set his bag on the floor watching intently out of the corner of his eye as she walked around the desk, he returned to a standing position before he opened his arms and immediately smiled as she walked straight into them. Nothing felt as good as when he was able to wrap his arms around her, he closed his eyes as memories of when they were together immediately returned.

The way that his arms had immediately wrapped around her waist holding her as close as possible was something that she had missed about him. Her eyes slid closed as she hugged him back, she didn't want to let go, she didn't want to let him leave and walk out of the door again for her not to see him again for another six years. Sadly she knew that what she wanted couldn't happen so she reluctantly let go of him and pulled back from the hug, "It was really good to see you again and maybe next time it won't be six years."

"Well if I'm really lucky and your board likes the work I might have to have a few more meetings back here so you never know, I might see you sooner than you think. Take care of yourself though." He knew that it was wishful thinking that even if the two companies worked together that he would be tasked to actually work on the logo, it didn't do any harm to hope though.

"You too Paul, bye."

Almost reluctantly he grabbed his bag and left her office giving his sister a quick hug on his way out. When he reached outside he called himself a cab and with a wait time of twenty minutes for reasons he couldn't be bothered to listen to he decided to text Sean, at least he wouldn't lecture him and it made him feel better about not being able to meet up with him:

 _You will never believe who I saw today, Stephanie._

He briefly questioned whether he should actually say something but sent the text anyway before he put his phone back in his pocket, he was not expecting an answer any time soon. Almost immediately his phone began to ring and looking at the screen as he removed it from his pocket he shook his head, "Shouldn't you be working?"

"How the hell do you manage to bump into her on the one day you are in town and we all live here and we barely see her?"

Apparently he wasn't going to get away from a lecture judging by how the call had started which only made him roll his eyes and shake his head. He began to walk back and forth suddenly feeling incredibly restless, "I didn't bump into her, technically. Do you remember I told you that I had appointments this afternoon and all day tomorrow? My appointment today was with her."

Sean winced when he heard that news as everybody assumed that things were awkward between the pair as they seemed to avoid being together, "Well that sounds awkward."

"It actually wasn't, well it was to begin with but we kind of pushed six years ago aside and just got on with our work. It may not have been awkward but it was absolutely torture man, I might have to do it again if they employ us for the design on their new logo."

Lynn watched her brother leave before she got up and walked into Stephanie's office just in time to see her collapsing in her chair looking drained, "He wasn't that bad was he?"

She actually wished that he had been a pain because she may not feel this drained if he was. Her hands raised to run down her face before she shook her head and then she raked her fingers through her hair, "No, not like that. Between my Dad not trusting me and the meeting being with the ex-boyfriend that I never stopped loving it has been an exhausting afternoon." It was only when she saw her Secretary's reaction that she realised what she had said all of that out loud, "Oops, I said that out loud didn't I?"

"Yes you said it out loud. Did you ask him out whilst he's in town?" If it came to it she was going to play matchmaker between the two of them as they had both admitted to her that they loved the other and there was a chance that he might return home again so it could work out this time.

Stephanie tilted her head to the side confused and unsure if she had actually just said that, "You want me to ask my ex-boyfriend who lives on the other side of the country out on a date?"

It was amazing to Lynn how similar she sounded to her brother, he was giving her the same excuses earlier. Her eyes rolled towards the back of her head before she walked closer to the desk, "Did I say the word 'date'? I simply meant for the two of you to go out as friends, talk, get to know each other again and see where you both stand. I do know that he is only on a flying visit here so you don't have long if you want to seize the day."

Her Mom always said 'Carpe Diem' to her but she never really had, however this was Paul and she still loved him but she didn't think they could work long distance. As much as she wanted to be with him as she had never stopped loving him she couldn't imagine how it could possibly work. How could they possibly maintain a relationship when she was up to her eyes with work on one side and it sounded like he was in the same position on the other side of the country?

She could see the cogs turning in her boss' brain and she didn't like it as she knew that her brain would talk her out of what her heart wanted, "Stop thinking and start doing. If you don't want to have regrets then maybe you should do this one thing."

"And maybe if I do this one thing I will still have regrets."

Lynn crossed her arms, "Tell yourself you won't miss him when he leaves."

The second she said that she realised that she really didn't want him to go without spending more time with him if possible, even though they would never get back together she still didn't want to let him go. She quickly got up and ran out of her office to see if she could catch him before he left.

When she reached the stairs she took those rather than the elevator as it would take too long if she waited for it to arrive and then travel down. Stephanie ran down the stairs as fast as she could before she slowed to a fast walk as she made her way through Reception and outside. When she walked out of the door she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Paul still stood there, "Paul."

Paul stopped pacing when he heard his name, the voice was so familiar so he knew who it was but he didn't know why she wanted him, "Look I've got to go, I'll call you after." He barely remained on the phone long enough to be polite before he ended the call and put his phone in his pocket. Slowly turning around to face Stephanie he almost expected her to say something bad, "Did I forget something?"

"Yes, well no, not technically." Taking a deep breath she ran her fingers through her hair pushing it back out of her face and tried not to sound crazy, "What are you doing tonight?"

His eyebrow raised in surprise when she asked because he didn't know where this was going to lead, he hoped that it was not going to involve working all night as he was feeling a bit jet-lagged as he didn't sleep well, "Sitting in my hotel room just drawing as a way to occupy myself so I don't go to sleep too early most likely. Why?"

It was the perfect opportunity to go out for dinner as he had no other plans, biting her lip she took a deep breath and waved politely as a colleague left for the day, "Feel free to say no but I kind of wondered if you wanted to grab some food together tonight?"

He didn't even need to think about what he was going to say in response, "Yes, I would love to, it will give us some time to catch up." Even if the jet-lag hit him hard he would find a way to keep himself awake so that he could spend the time with her.

She bit her lip shyly to stop herself from smiling like an idiot, she was so happy that he had agreed to go out with her tonight even if it meant nothing, "If it's okay with you I'll grab your number from your sister and text you when I'm done here, then I'll pick you up at your hotel and we'll go out."

"Yeah that's fine but I'll meet you at the restaurant. You really don't need to waste your time and gas coming to pick me up, I will just make my own way there."

She didn't have time to argue with him so if that was what he wanted then she'd go with that, "Sure, whatever works for you. I'd better go back to work before my Dad makes me work all night but I'll see you later."

He didn't expect anything to come of their evening but he was going to really enjoy spending time with her. He was trying to play it cool but he couldn't help but smile at her, "Yes you will. See you later Steph." Paul was so lost in his thoughts watching her walk away he jumped when the cab pulled up behind him and honked it's horn scaring him. He clutched his chest with his hand as he turned around and made his way the short distance to the cab and climbed in. As soon as he entered the cab he informed the driver of where he wanted to go, he settled in the back seat and pulled his phone from his pocket to text Sean after ending their call so abruptly:

 _I'm going out for dinner with Steph tonight, she just asked me which is why I ended the call abruptly, sorry._

Once he had sent the text he allowed himself to relax in the back of the cab not believing that he was going out to dinner with the ex-girlfriend he never stopped loving, he only hoped he didn't make a fool of himself.

She took the elevator back up to her office because after running all of the way down the stairs she was feeling the pain in her legs. When she reached her office again she wasn't surprised to see Lynn stood in the middle of it, "If you're going to be stood in my office not doing your work could you at least give me your brother's cell phone number please?"

After what her brother had said earlier about still having a bonfire for her she had to resist jumping for joy, "Well of course I can, but why?"

"We're going out for dinner tonight so I need the ability to text him to tell him when I leave here. Don't start celebrating as it is only dinner and it won't go anywhere but we probably both need this for closure or some such shit."

Lynn couldn't help but laugh to herself as she left the office to get her phone, they were both so stupid if they thought that they could stick to that. She returned with her phone in her hand scrolling through it to get to her brother's number before she handed it over to her boss, "I hope you have fun, it will be nice for him to have some female company." Quickly taking her phone back she spun on her heel and left the office having already said more than she should have.

Stephanie didn't want to think of the meaning behind the words that had just been spoken so she turned to her own phone and opened the group chat with Sasha and Emily:

 _You will never guess who I saw today and who I'm going out to dinner with tonight._

Setting her phone back on the desk she picket up all of the logos and began to go through them one by one looking for the best to give to her Father for the board meeting tonight. Once she had picked a handful she had to write a short statement to go along with them.

Stephanie was halfway through typing out her statement when her cell phone beeped, curious to see who had replied she picked it up off the desk and immediately laughed reading Sasha's reply:

 _George Clooney finally turned up huh?_

Almost immediately her phone beeped again and Emily had replied:

 _Nah, it's not Clooney, it has to be somebody bigger and better._

She wasn't going to play this game with them so sent a two word reply:

 _It's Paul._

She put her phone back down so she could continue with her work but she had barely typed a letter before her phone blew up:

 _PAUL?!_

 _OMG *THE* PAUL?!_

 _I THOUGHT HE LIVED IN CALI._

 _OMG HE FOUND YOU?!_

Stephanie was confused by Emily's text, she had no idea that her friend ever saw Paul on any occasion that he was in town as she never mentioned it to her:

 _You knew he was here Em?_

Her mind drifted back to her statement which she quickly finished off and began to print it before she moved across the room to pick it up from the printer so that she could give it all to her Dad before he started asking for it. She was making her way back to her desk with the statement in hand when her phone beeped again and she knew who it was, she placed the statement on top of the sketches before she picked up her phone to see how Emily was justifying keeping her in the dark about Paul:

 _He came by for dinner last night, he's in town for 2 days & is super busy but he was asking about you._

It was so confusing listening to everybody dropping these subtle hints about what Paul may or may not feel for her. She dropped her phone back onto her desk not wanting to actually take her words in so took the sketches and statement to her Father for later as it gave her something to distract her mind with.

Stephanie was on her way back to her office when she noticed how Lynn wasn't at her desk any more which was confusing as she had been there when she left literally two minutes ago, as she entered her office she saw her stood at her desk holding her phone which both confused and irritated her, "You have my phone because?"

Her head snapped up to look at her boss feeling a little like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she hadn't been snooping but she didn't exactly seem happy with her. She held out her phone towards her, "It was beeping so much I thought it was your ring tone so thought I should answer it, sorry. It turns out your really popular though, you have like a thousand texts."

Almost snatching her phone back she sighed, "It's my two best friends, they're freaking out over me seeing Paul and going out to dinner with him tonight."

"Why?" Lynn couldn't help but be curious, she knew that they had a history but her friends were seriously freaking out and it wasn't even like they were doing something serious like getting married.

Taking a seat behind her desk again she sighed heavily wishing she didn't have to go into this, "I don't know how much you know but back in college Paul and I dated and we broke up when he moved to California for the internship."

"So you're **that** girl and you're the person he has clearly been pining over then. I mean I know when he first saw you that the two of you had some sort of intense past but my brother is always so vague about his love life that I didn't realise that it was literally one woman in College before his internship. I can't believe that I have been working for you for nearly two years and I had no idea that you were in college with my brother."

All of this talk about him pining for her and him asking about her was messing with her head and was going to completely screw up her evening if she let it, "I want to push you on that more but I also want to enjoy my night and I can't do both."

Lynn knew she shouldn't get involved any more than she had but after seeing everybody else's reaction she didn't want either of them to get hurt, "I know I shouldn't say this as it isn't my place to or anything but he is only in town until tomorrow and then he goes back to Cali."

Why she was telling her that he was only in town until tomorrow was a mystery, it was nothing more than two old friends catching up, "Uh . . . okay? It's just dinner as friends to catch up and talk, nothing more."

She wanted to believe that she wasn't hoping for more, she didn't though, "That's good, I was just making sure you knew what was going on." Before she got herself into trouble with her brother or fired for not doing any work she left the room and shut the door behind her.

Stephanie looked down at her phone and read a few of the texts that she had received to distract herself:

 _That's rude that you see him and I don't._

 _Sash he isn't even meant to be here, his colleague was meant to be on this trip not him._

 _OMG OMG OMG, it's fate! You were destined to get back together because why else would this be your first meeting alone & he was the person you met with?_

She couldn't help but roll her eyes, she loved her to death but there were many ways to describe it other than fate that they were meant to get back together was not one of them:

 _Bitch please, fate we're meant to get back together my ass. He still lives in Cali and we still have an entire country between us so nothing has changed._

After sending the text she put her phone down on the desk suddenly feeling depressed and not at all excited about her dinner with Paul. Her intentions had been pure and innocent, she had just wanted to catch up with him over dinner after so long but everybody else had decided that she needed to know their opinion on it and now she was left confused and feeling like there was a lot riding on this dinner, not just for her but for everybody else too.


	15. Chapter 15

Before she could head out for the evening Stephanie had to actually book a table for dinner. Once that was done she sent Paul a text to tell him what time and where the restaurant was before she started to pack up her stuff and headed out to go home and get ready.

As she walked out of her office she pulled the door shut behind her, "Goodnight Lynn."

Lynn gasped in shock and acted like she was going to faint when she saw her boss in front of her, "But it's so early, surely you aren't actually leaving now."

"Shush, it is a normal time that I am leaving."

She had been thinking about it for the past hour and she finally had come to a conclusion, "Normal time for you before your friends got married, definitely not normal since the wedding."

Opening her mouth to argue with her she found that she didn't have a point to argue with because she knew that it was the truth, "I will see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy your dinner Steph."

She waved at her Secretary as she left to head home to change. Stephanie wished that people would get out of her head and stop making her think ahead of this dinner, she was starting to think the worst and beginning to regret asking him out.

Paul showered and changed into something a little more relaxed but still quite smart. Once he was dressed he looked the restaurant up on his phone to see how far away it was before deciding on taking a cab to make sure that he didn't get lost.

When she drove past the restaurant to park her car Stephanie bit her lip when she saw Paul stood there waiting for her. Once she had managed to park her car she walked around to where Paul was stood, "Hi."

He couldn't help but look her up and down and stare at her as she looked so beautiful, "Good evening bea . . . Stephanie."

The way that he was looking at her and what he almost said caused a blush to stain her cheeks, she couldn't believe he almost said that, "You nearly called me beautiful, why didn't you? Not that I'm saying that I am but why didn't you just finish the word?"

"Because I'm not your boyfriend, it isn't really my place to call you beautiful and not sound creepy."

She placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it gently, "Paul we're friends, you can call me anything polite that you want to, just like I can be honest and say that you look really handsome."

"Well if you think I am handsome and I can say you are beautiful then it also means that I can do this." He wrapped his arms around her he hugged her tightly, "See?"

She couldn't help but laugh at him, he was just as dorky as she remembered. She wrapped her arms around him resting her head on his chest as memories of when they were together flooded her brain.

Unable to stop himself he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and rested his cheek there as he held her.

When she removed herself from the hug she bit down on her lip, things had gotten extremely weird straight away, "Well this was a very unusual beginning to the evening."

Paul felt so guilty for how his actions had made her feel. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he studied her, "I'm sorry Steph, I guess it was six years of emotions boiling over. Let's go inside and get settled."

Despite all of the weird feelings she wanted to be near him whilst she could. She slipped her arm through his and held on tightly as they walked arm and arm into the restaurant, once inside they quickly got settled at a table and chose their meals from the menu.

As soon as their orders had been taken Stephanie decided to tackle him on the thing that had bothered her since he reappeared, it had come back into her mind when he was reluctant to call her beautiful, "Why did you start ignoring my texts? You were the one who ended it and acted like you still wanted to be friends."

The last thing he wanted for tonight was her to get mad at him so he had hoped to avoid this subject, at least for tonight anyway. A heavy sigh passed his lips when he saw the look in her eyes that he remembered to be her 'you will answer me' look, "It wasn't intentional that I ignored you but I changed my number and I couldn't get yours. I went to the beach with some of the other interns and they thought it would be hilarious to throw my cell phone in the sea so I ended up needing new everything, the jerk at the store then outright refused to give me my old number back. I couldn't remember your phone number so I asked everyone to give it to me but they all refused, I guess they were trying to protect you or I or something. When I came home for Christmas I tried looking you up but there were a few people with your name and I didn't know exactly where you lived and thought it would be super creepy to just call people and be like, 'hi I'm Paul, I was your best friend and boyfriend' in case it wasn't you."

"So you never wanted to lose contact?"

Immediately he shook his head, he didn't want to lose touch at all and it was partly because he still loved her a lot, "No, not at all. For a while I was so mad at the guys for not giving me your number, hearing now how you were I'm kind of glad they didn't as I feel really responsible."

Why did he feel responsible for her working hard? Confused she raised her eyebrow, this should be good, "Responsible for what exactly? I haven't gone off the rails and become a drug addict or something."

He really didn't want this evening to turn into a disaster and her to storm off but he had got himself into this mess so he had to get himself out of it, "You may not have become addicted to drugs but it seems like you've become addicted to work. Nobody ever sees you and according to my sister, before either of us knew that I knew you, she said that you have been working yourself into the ground."

Why did everybody think there was something wrong with working hard? She shrugged her shoulders and took a sip from her newly delivered glass of wine, "What is the point in going home to an empty house when I can stay in the office and work hard and achieve something?"

She made a really good point but he couldn't help the next words out of his mouth, "I'm sure that goes down well with your boyfriend."

"What boyfriend?"

He didn't know why the idea of her not having a boyfriend made him so happy when it wasn't like he could be her boyfriend, "The one you clearly have, you're too beautiful not to have one."

She was desperate to change the subject as she didn't want to admit that there hadn't been a boyfriend since him, "Let's catch up on things we have missed out on rather than my love life."

After moving away from the subject of her love life the two of them had a really enjoyable meal catching up and sharing stories and much laughter. They had finished eating and the bill had just been delivered which they both immediately went to grab it to enable them to pay it.

Stephanie frowned as he gripped the bill, "What are you doing? I asked you out to dinner so I am paying for it."

A small smile came to his face at the irritation on her face but he kept his hold on the bill and he wasn't giving in, "I am paying it because I am a gentleman and I said I am."

"Are you five too?"

He couldn't help but laugh at that, she probably had a point though because of how he spoke but he wasn't letting go just because she made him laugh, "Maybe, but I am still not giving in."

It was probably a stupid way to think, but she didn't want him to think that she asked him out because she wanted him to buy her dinner, "Paul please, I asked you out so I should pay."

She wasn't giving in but neither was he, "What if I paid for dinner and you can repay me by helping me find somewhere that sells coffee that isn't like dirty dishwater?"

That didn't entirely sound like a fair trade because helping somebody find a good coffee place was not the same as buying dinner, "That's not really the same though is it?"

He was quick to nod his head, "It is." It was more than the same to him when he was going to need to live in coffee the next day due to a mild form of jet lag due to his screwed up sleep schedule at home, "When you haven't had proper coffee in two days getting a decent cup is absolutely priceless. I am begging you if you are insistent on paying for dinner anyway to at least help me out with getting some decent coffee please."

She tugged on the bill gently and delighted when he released it so that she could pay, "What if you came back to mine and I made you some decent coffee and then I'll drop you back to your hotel? Unless it's too late or you need to get back to do some work?"

When she mentioned going back to hers for coffee he initially thought she was joking but as he watched her he wasn't so sure. Although her focus was on removing her credit card from her purse and checking the bill to pay there was not a hint of joking in her demeanour so he decided to test it out, "I can catch a cab back to the hotel as long as I'm not putting you out or you should be working or going to bed or something."

"I think your sister would be quite thrilled if I didn't do any work tonight so the offer is there if you want to take it."

He wanted to say yes, he wanted to go back to hers with her but he wasn't entirely sure that he wouldn't try something if he did.

The two of them walked out of the restaurant side by side in silence but she needed an answer from him now, "So what will it be Paul? Coffee at mine or a lift to your hotel?"

"Coffee please. My need for decent coffee has won out over everything."

Laughing she instinctively slid her hand into his holding it tightly as she led him towards her car.

Paul couldn't help but look down at their joined hands and smile, somehow they had managed to fall back into the mindset of them being a couple and he had zero problems with that.

The drive back to her place was done with just the sound of the radio as he took in his surroundings having never been to this part of town before. As she pulled into the driveway of what he assumed was her house he couldn't help but admire it from outside, she must be earning a lot of money to be able to afford a house like this.

When the car came to a stop she looked over at him as she shut the engine off, she was uncomfortable with the way he was looking at the house, "What?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking that your job must pay well as this looks expensive but it's beautiful."

A sigh passed her lips when he said that. There was no point in hiding the truth, she didn't want to be one of those people who wanted people to believe that she was on a lot more at work than she really was. Now was the right time for her to be up front and honest with him about it so she decided to get it over and done with, "My job does pay nicely but not nice enough to afford this house. Through high school and college I saved a lot to add to the money my parents set aside to go towards a deposit on a house. They did it for both me and my brother, I think it was to help us get on the property ladder as it is expensive to buy here."

As he climbed out of the car he got the chance to really admire her taste, "Let me guess, you thought long term with this house?"

She couldn't help but smile as she climbed out of the car. He was the first person to immediately see what she was trying to do when she bought the house, "Exactly. Why don't you come inside and I'll make you some coffee and then give you a guided tour."

When he followed her inside he did as she said and went into the lounge to relax whilst she went to make him a coffee. Without her in the room he truly had the opportunity to look around and see things she otherwise might try to hide from him. The first thing he did was go to check out the few photographs on the mantelpiece before he sat down on the couch when he found them to be of nothing interesting. As he sat down on the couch his eyes were immediately drawn to a book that looked awfully familiar. He moved forward in the seat and picked it up, when he opened the front page he actually gasped at the memory when he read the what was written on the cover:

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _I know you probably won't believe me but making the decision to leave was the hardest thing I have ever had to do and there was only one reason for that, you. I completely understand that you're probably mad and hate me for it but please know that I love you with all of my heart and I probably always will._

 _This book contains some mementos of our time together in the hope that you will always remember me and smile at the memories of what we had._

 _Love you always and forever,_

 _Paul_

She surprised herself by remembering how he took his coffee and was going to boast when she gave it to him. When she walked into the lounge with the two cups of coffee in her hands she gulped, she had completely forgotten that she had that on her coffee table, "I guess you found the book huh?"

Immediately slamming the book shut he felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "Uh, yeah. Sorry, I shouldn't be snooping."

Suddenly boasting about remembering how he took his coffee wasn't on her mind any more. She put the coffees down on the table before she took a seat on the couch, "It was on the coffee table, you really weren't snooping."

Despite what she said he couldn't help but feel guilty as he placed the book back where he had found it. He slowly turned to face her not sure if he was going to like this conversation, "So how come that book is in your lounge and not either in the trash or buried deep in a box somewhere?"

"Because I like looking at it? My Dad keeps telling me that I should throw it out or put it away but it makes me happy when I am sad to sit and look through it remembering the good times. Please don't tell your girlfriend though, she definitely wouldn't want us to be friends if she knew."

Why did she say that? Paul reached across the small distance between them and placed his hand over hers squeezing them gently, "Don't worry, I don't have a girlfriend and even if I did it's your business and not hers. How does your boyfriend feel about it? I know I asked this earlier but you dodged answering it."

Had this man never heard of letting things go? Stephanie got up from the couch to put more distance betwen them, she couldn't help but walk away from him not wanting to be near him or to see his face when she answered, "I don't have one, I haven't since we were together. Sure I have been out on a few dates but it's been nothing more than that."

He was surprised to hear that she didn't have and hadn't had a boyfriend since they split up, he always assumed that she would be inundated with dates as to him she had always been the most beautiful woman on the planet. The distance between them was a little much so standing up he walked towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Why are you acting like that is some big crime or a reason to be embarrassed? You know who you are looking for and just haven't found them yet. It's better to date a few than going through a thousand men only to still not find the person you are looking for."

She didn't know if it was the touch of his hands on her shoulders or the way he was staring into her eyes but she lost the ability to think before she spoke and words just spilled out of her mouth, "But what if I found who I was looking for and lost them with only a very slim chance of getting them back? How am I supposed to move on when all I can think of is how good I had it with them and how nobody else compares?"

Part of his heart clenched at the thought that what they had had meant so little to her and the other part of his heart soared with the thought that she felt for him what he felt for her, "Why can't you get them back? Are they married? Or maybe they're dead?"

Immediately she wondered when he became so stupid but as she looked into his eyes she knew that he knew, they were just doing some odd dance but she couldn't stop herself from continuing on with the conversation, "They're very much alive and apparently single but they live on the other side of the country. There is no way that we could manage a long distance relationship like that, no matter how much I would be willing to give it a go."

His eyes widened at the revelation that she would be willing to be in a long distance relationship with him. He wanted to be with her so badly and there was the potential that he would be moving back here soon, so if that happened then they would be close in distance again. Before he knew what was happening he found himself leaning closer to her, capturing her lips with his he kissed her like it was the last thing he would ever do.


	16. Chapter 16

This is for Olivia, Happy Birthday, I hope this is a great gift :) I hope everybody else enjoys it too :)

* * *

Slowly pulling back from the kiss Stephanie was speechless, she knew that they had both been dancing around saying the words that they both still had strong feelings for the other but she hadn't expected him to kiss her like that.

As he looked into her eyes Paul wasn't sure that he had done the right thing by kissing her like that, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" As thrown as she was by the kiss the last thing she wanted him to do was walk out of the door because she wasn't sure if she would ever see him again if he did, "Paul please don't leave. I'm a little taken aback by the kiss because it was the last thing I expected tonight, however it doesn't mean that I want you to leave."

"Okay, I won't leave. I promise no more kissing though." It would take everything within him not to kiss her but at this point he was sure that if he did kiss her she would kick him out, and probably never talk to him again and that was the last thing he wanted. He made his way back to the couch and took a seat, picking up his steaming hot coffee he took a sip savouring the taste of something that was a lot stronger than the dirty dishwater he had been drinking.

She stood where she was for a minute before she followed him over to the couch. She took a seat close beside him, but not too close, "So how do you like California?"

He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, suddenly he found himself even less inclined to go home than he had been before, "It's okay I guess. I mean having sunshine almost all of the time is nice but, and you will probably laugh at this, I kind of miss the cold and sometimes the snow."

Stephanie couldn't help but look at him like he was crazy and shake her head, "Why would you miss the cold? The cold is so bad, it makes people sick and miserable and it is nothing worth missing."

"I don't know, I just miss it. I guess without the change in temperature all the months blur into one as they are never really that different."

He didn't exactly sound happy where he was which made her curious about one thing, "Would you ever move back to the east coast, or well anywhere away from California and it's apparently too constant sunshine?"

He wished she hadn't asked that because now he had to think of an answer that didn't give anything away. Silence enveloped them as he took a moment to think it over before he decided to try his luck, "I would definitely consider moving if the time, offer and situation were right. I mean I really have nothing tying me to California other than my job so why stay there if there is a better option, one that brings me closer to those that I love? Would you ever leave the cold and move to somewhere where it was always warm and sunny?" His reasoning behind his question was that if he turned the tables on her then she couldn't read anything into his answer.

"That is not something I have ever really contemplated. The job I am in is something that I had always wanted and somewhere where I always wanted to work. Give me a minute to think about it and I will let you know."

He kept his hands wrapped around his coffee cup so he didn't do anything stupid with them, like wrap an arm around her shoulders, "Take as long as you want, just maybe not long enough that you'll be kicking me out before you tell me though please."

There was something about being around him and having kissed him that took her back to College, so much so that she instinctively reached out and smacked his shoulder, "I won't kick you out and I won't take that long to tell you."

His eyebrow raised and he turned to face her a little, rubbing his arm where she had hit him as it stung a little he wondered if it was a slip of the tongue, "You won't kick me out?" When he received a nod in response he carried on feeling bold, "So I could stay all night long if I want?" When she nodded again he didn't think before the words left his mouth, "I could stay in your bed if that is what I desired?"

The second that her eyebrows raised he knew that he had definitely overstepped his mark, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Being around you after so long and with everything that happened when we split up and just with everything I still feel for you I'm saying and doing things I really shouldn't be doing, I'm sorry. I will finish my coffee and I will go before I do or say something that will completely blow any chances of friendship happening."

He didn't want to assume that there was any chance of them rekindling their relationship. Despite the kiss they had shared and what she had said about being willing to do a long distance relationship he still found himself with reservations, he knew what he had done to her the last time and he didn't know if it was possible to overcome.

She felt her heart speed up and her stomach drop as she turned to face him, she was both hopeful and afraid about her next line of questioning, "Friendship? Is that all there will ever be between us?"

"Is that all you ever want there to be between us?"

When he didn't give her the answer she wanted she couldn't help but glare at him, "I asked you first. I am not answering your question until you answer mine."

Paul felt like there was no correct answer to her question, if he said yes she would be mad and accuse him of waltzing back into her life to turn it upside down because it suited him, if he said no then she would be mad and accuse him of being arrogant enough to assume that she was waiting for him. He had to put his coffee cup down so that he could rub his temples, "I don't know what to say, I don't feel like there is an answer to this that won't make you mad at me."

"Be truthful with me, that won't make me mad at you."

After inhaling deeply he decided to blurt it out, "I don't want there to be just friendship between us. I still have strong feelings for you and would give everything for you to be mine again. I understand that our lives are pretty much entirely separate and everything has changed and as much as I want something it doesn't mean it can or will happen."

She had waited six years to hear him say the words that he still had strong feelings for her, combining that with the kiss that they had shared made her head feel like it was going to explode. This was everything that she wanted, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to take the chance on him again if she was never going to see him, "How would it work Paul? I live here, you live in California, it would be impossible."

He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, he hadn't thought about it as everything about today had been unexpected, "Umm, well we're looking at getting more work on this coast so I might be here on work trips so I could see you, long weekends or really any weekend we could fly to see each other or meet somewhere halfway. I don't know Steph, if we want this to work then we'll make it happen but I'm not going to try and convince you that we should, unless you actually want to."

"If I said that I really was willing to give a long distance relationship with you a go but I want to take things slowly so we don't get hurt, what would you say?"

He picked up his coffee to have a quick sip before he quickly put it back down, he didn't want to get distracted as he didn't want to spill the liquid all over her cream couch, "I would say that I am willing to go at whatever speed you wish, only if it is what you want and you're not saying it because you want me to be happy."

Glaring at him she crossed her arms surprised that he would even suggest it, "When have you ever known me to do something to please somebody else?"

"Never? Even though I have never known you to do something just to please somebody else it doesn't mean that you might not do it today for the first time, or you're saying it now and as soon as I'm back in California you'll say that it is too much and you want to split up because you don't feel like you can turn me down to my face."

She couldn't help but giggle at him, "You haven't changed much at all have you? Apparently you still really like to over think things, despite everything you do know you seem to lose sight of it all and just talk yourself and others out of decisions."

Paul could only put his hands up in defence, everything she had said was true, it was at its worst when it was something he wanted but was convinced would never happen, "I just don't want you to feel like I am pressuring you into saying you want to because I can't keep my hands and lips to myself, knowing when to shut my mouth is also a very big problem sometimes."

"The time to shut your mouth would be about now. You're not pressuring me into anything Paul, I never stopped loving you and always wanted to get back together with you, I just have some small reservations about the distance that will be between us so I don't want to do certain things so that neither of us gets hurts."

The way that she said that she didn't want to do certain things made him nervous, "Certain things like what?"

"Just sex really."

Relieved he slowly blew out the breath that he had been holding, he had expected it to be so much worse than that, "I'm okay with that. If I am honest I don't want to jump straight into that tonight. There is so much that we need to talk about and catch up on and I really wouldn't want our first night to go down like that."

Slowly closing the distance between them she looked at him hopefully, "So are we agreeing to give this another go between us?"

Whilst she moved closer to him he shuffled closer to her so that they were almost touching, "We are and I kind of like it a lot."

A slight blush coloured her cheeks as she looked down at the couch, "I kind of like it a lot too. How do you seriously feel about staying the night? I have to be at work relatively early in the morning though."

"I have a meeting at nine in the morning but I'm all prepared for it so if I can be back at my hotel about quarter past eight I would love to stay the night. By the way, I'm not asking you to drop me off at the hotel, I will grab a cab."

She couldn't help herself and she leant forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "Will you just be quiet please? I know you Paul and I know when you are actually asking for something and when you are just talking so I already knew that you weren't asking me to drop you back at your hotel. I can drop you off if you want though, I want to be at the office about eight so you will be at your hotel in plenty of time to be ready for your meeting."

Paul couldn't stop himself from pulling her into his arms so that he could hold her closely, "Sorry, I promise that I will try not to just keep talking. It all seems too good to be true, after the way I treated you and what I did to you it is so hard to think that you are willing to give me another chance."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest, "You didn't cheat on me, you left me for the most amazingly sweet reasons. Sure I was upset that I didn't have you any more, I was even more upset when I thought that you had broken off all contact with me but neither of us wanted the break up, you just had to do what you had to do for your future and I understand. We're both a little older and a little wiser now, whereas a long distance relationship might not have worked before there is a better chance of it working now."

He was just about to answer her when his phone rang, "Fuck, I'd better grab that in case it's my parents." Reluctantly pulling away from her slightly he began to pat his pockets, he finally found where his phone was located and retrieved it, not caring to look at the caller display in case he missed the call he answered it, "Hello?"

"Why good evening Mr Levesque."

He had to bite back a groan when he recognised the voice but it helped distract from his irritation when Stephanie leant back against his chest, "Good evening Scott, what can I do for you tonight?"

"Well ya see I just wanted to check up on you and make sure that you hadn't changed your mind about looking Stephanie up on your trip?"

Looking down at her leaning against his chest he smiled, "Nah, I've not changed my mind. I've got to go though as I'm with company, I'll call you when I get home and let you know how things have gone."

He quickly ended the call with Scott and put his phone down beside him, "Sorry about that."

When he ended the call she lifted her head to look at him confused, "Who was that and what did they want?"

Instinct took over and he pulled her closer to him again, "Scott and he wanted to know if . . ." He trailed off not sure if he should admit the last part.

"What did Scott want to know exactly? You can tell me anything you know and I really don't care today."

If she said she didn't care then he would be honest so taking a deep breath he decided to just let it all out, "He wanted to know if I had changed my mind about looking you up on this trip. I told him that I haven't changed my mind because I wasn't sure how to explain this to him."

It would kill two birds with one stone if they told Scott, he would tell Emily that they were still together and then they would both get off their backs about talking to each other . . . and who knows what else they wanted, "I have an idea." Almost reluctantly she released her grip on him but only so that she could pick up his phone. She was grateful to find that he didn't have a password on it and she could just unlock it and access the camera, snuggling closer to him she held the phone up, "Smile."

He relaxed and rested his cheek on the top of her head, he smiled into the camera as she snapped a quick picture and then started fiddling around with his phone, "Exactly what are you doing?"

"Let's give Scott and Emily a reason to freak out and see if they'll individually blow up our phones." She didn't tell him that she had told Emily that she had seen him, that would just confuse the issue as she wasn't sure if Scott was just spying for his wife.

Part of him knew that he should disapprove of her behaviour but he also thought it would be funny so he just shook his head, "Why don't we leave our phones down here and go to bed and see what we wake up to tomorrow?"

She attached the photograph to a text and sent it without a single word being added before she sat forward and placed his phone on the coffee table, "That is pure evil but I like it." Once she was ready she stood up and took hold of his hand, "You can bring your coffee with you."

Instinctively he slid his fingers between hers as he stood up from the couch, with his free hand he picked up his coffee cup ready to go to bed, "And now you can show me to my room."

"Mmhmm." She continued to hold his hand and with her free hand she picked up her own coffee, as they walked past the lights switch she carefully flicked it off being careful not to spill her coffee. It felt strange to be leading a man upstairs but it felt right for it to be Paul. As they reached the landing she stopped outside her room, "You have two choices, you can either stay in the spare room or you can stay in my room with me. I'm not going to say anything else other than there is no wrong answer."

He wished that she hadn't given him an option because he felt like such a dick saying this, they had been together again all of an hour if he was lucky and it was quick, "I really want to stay with you, I want to go to sleep holding you in my arms again."

Gasping she was shocked to hear him say all of that, "Really?!"

Slowly nodding his head he wasn't sure exactly what that response was for, she had said that there was no wrong answers, "Yes really. That is one of the many things I have missed being apart from you, I used to love going to sleep with you in my arms."

She released her hold on his hand and silently turned the handle pushing the door open before stepping inside the room, "Welcome to my bedroom."


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning Stephanie woke up a little before her alarm, however she didn't mind as she relished the opportunity to lay in bed and enjoy the feel of his arm wrapped around her waist and his chest pressed against her back, she hadn't gotten to enjoy this with anybody since they split up and it felt good. She rested her hand over his on her stomach and closed her eyes just relaxing until her alarm actually went off.

Paul stirred when the beeping began, he instinctively pulled the body closer and buried his face in the hair mumbling, "Make it stop."

She reached out and turned off her alarm to make the beeping stop. She knew that she should move quickly, she also knew that once she got out of bed there was little chance of her being close to him again until one of them visited the other, "I've stopped it but we should get up soon."

"Can I cancel my meetings and you call in sick and we just stay here in bed like this?"

It was such an appealing idea but as she laughed at it she carefully turned over until she was face to face with him, his hand quickly found its way to her back holding her close to him despite her movements, "Do you want to get in trouble with your boss? Well more likely he will fire you as I am sure that these meetings are important."

He knew that she was right, it didn't mean he had to like it though. Rather than responding with words he closed the small distance between their faces, tilting his head a little he pressed his lips against hers in what started as a slow and lazy kiss but quickly heated up and soon she was on her back and he was hovering over her body.

They had said no sex and even though they didn't have time for sex anyway she didn't feel like she had needed to push him away as he pulled away from the kiss on his own and rested his head on her shoulder. Absently she began to rake her fingers through his hair as she tried to regain her breathing, she felt like she was exactly where she should be and she knew that she had made the right decision, even if the distance was going to kill her.

His eyes fell closed as she raked her fingers through his hair just enjoying the closeness that he felt from the simple action. He stayed where he was for a minute before he lifted his head, he opened his eyes so he could look at her and he gasped suddenly overcome with her beauty.

When he gasped she immediately started to panic and began to try and get away from it and get out of bed, "What?"

Quickly grabbing hold of her before she could leave he tried to think of the best way to put this, "I forgot how beautiful you were and how amazingly stunning you are post make-out session."

Her hand immediately lifted and she smacked his bare shoulder gently as she shook her head, "You don't need to lie to cover up the truth."

"Believe me I'm not. Stephanie you're so beautiful that I have no idea how you are single, or why you are even giving me a second chance as you are way out of my league and always have been. It was just in that moment as I looked at you I truly got to see your beauty and it took my breath away. I know that is so corny but I didn't want you to be mad so thought I should be honest with you."

She arched her back and pushed herself up on her elbows so that she could press a soft kiss to his lips, "You're cute for thinking that up so quickly but we really need to get up as you have meetings to get to."

He knew when not to fight with her and that moment was definitely now as he didn't want them to part with her being mad, he would have to let her think whatever she wanted to if so if she didn't want to believe him this time then he wasn't going to waste time arguing, "I didn't think it up quickly because it was the truth, whatever you want to believe to make it easier I guess."

After a quick peck to his lips quickly she slipped out of bed, "I will grab you some towels and you can shower in the main bathroom."

Slowly getting out of bed he watched her as she left the room, he didn't mean to scare her away but after so long without her he had been overwhelmed. A smile came to his face as she entered the room again, he wondered how the rest of their time was going to go though.

She was struggling in her mind with the realisation that as soon as she dropped him at the hotel she had no idea when she would see him again and it was beginning to hurt, she was beginning to regret all of her decisions from the past twenty four hours. Yanking at the towels she removed a couple from the cupboard and took them back into the bedroom so that she could give them to Paul, "Here you go, bathroom is two doors down."

Reluctantly taking the towels from her his original smile had fallen and he forced a new one, "Thanks." As walked past her he decided to give her some space and not force anything right now as they both had work today.

There was only one way to describe how she was feeling right now and that was utterly deflated. Stephanie just walked into the en-suite and shut the door behind her before she turned the shower on, whilst it warmed up she began to strip out of what little clothes she was wearing. Once the shower was steaming she climbed in and immediately stepped under the spray, closing her eyes she allowed the water to wash all over her body.

Fifteen minutes later and she was walking out of her en-suite dressed only in a towel to the sight of Paul sat on the end of her bed dressed only in his jeans from the night before, "Don't you need to put your shirt on?"

As he lifted his head at the sound of her voice he shamelessly checked her out in what little she was wearing, "I would, I just don't know what you did with my shirt?"

Blushing furiously she felt so stupid, she had been so distracted by the thoughts of not seeing him again for a while that she had forgotten that she wore his shirt to bed, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry." She quickly turned around and made her way back to the bathroom, picking his shirt up from the floor she brought it back to the bedroom handing it over to him, "I'm sorry, I was a little distracted."

When he took his shirt from her he allowed his hand to brush hers before he stood up and began to put it on, "It's okay, don't worry about it. Are you distracted because of this between us? Please be honest, I want to make sure before I leave the state later today that this is what you want, that you're not having second thoughts or are just plain regretting it."

She removed his hands from his shirt as he did up the buttons before she began doing them up for him needing to do something with her hands, "I'm not regretting any of this, I'm just scared that the distance will kill our relationship."

He wished that he could share with her what he knew about his potential move back here, but it was early stages and he couldn't risk it in case it didn't work out, "If you would rather not try then I won't hold it against you but as I said, we could meet halfway between us for a weekend or one of us could fly all the way out and if/when I am back in the area for business I will absolutely make time for you."

Once she finished the last button she tidied his collar, "I want to, I do, I'm just a bit jittery because I have never done this before."

"I promise you that I will not cheat, I will be one hundred percent faithful to you and I promise you that I will do everything I can to see you as much as I possibly can. It is up to you if you want to end it here though, I won't hold it against you as I understand."

As scared as she was about being in a long distance relationship if she was going to be able to make it work with anybody it would be Paul, "I want to do this, we can do this. If we keep talking then it'll be okay right?"

Pressing a kiss to her forehead he smiled, "If we keep talking everything will be okay."

It was her turn to return the favour so leaning up on her tiptoes she kissed him softly, "And now I need to get dressed as we need to eat quickly and you need to get back to the hotel before your meeting." With her mind focussed on what she needed to do she just turned around walking to her closet and flicking through a few items before she picked out a dress and after taking it off the hanger she tossed it onto the bed, turning to her drawers she was almost no longer aware that he was still in the room as she first pulled out a some underwear and slipped it on beneath the towel and then picked out a bra dropping her towel to the floor before she put that on. Focussed entirely on getting dressed she walked back to the bed and slipped on her dress and only then did she pay attention to the staring and looked at Paul as he stood there staring at her, "What?"

He hadn't been able to take his eyes off her, he knew that he should have left the room and allowed her to get dressed in private but instead he had stood there and watched her, "Nothing, I was just enjoying the view and it was a damn good one. I forgot exactly how sexy you looked in very little clothing."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes but she refrained from replying and went over to her vanity table. Taking a seat she picked up brush and began to run it through her hair but was surprised when she felt the brush removed from her hand, "What are you doing? I need to use that."

As he took the brush from her hand he began to brush her hair for her, "I know, I just thought that I would do it for you."

With some extra time where her hands were free she opened her jewellery box and removed the locket, a bracelet, a ring and a pair of earrings and put everything but the locket on as he brushed her hair. As soon as he was done she undid the clasp of the chain the locket was on and did that up around her neck adjusting it slightly before she slipped a hair tie over her wrist and turned to face Paul, "Thank you for brushing my hair but you didn't have to."

He shrugged his shoulders at her comment, he had had an ulterior motive for it as it had allowed him to study her and really try to see if what she had been saying about wanting to do it was true and judging by the relaxation in her face he believed it to be the truth, "It's okay, I quite enjoyed it."

Her eyes darted around the room briefly as she did a mental check list to see if she had everything. Finally taking her brush back she placed it on the vanity table and stood up, taking hold of his hand she led him downstairs, "Come on, we have just enough time for breakfast before we have to leave."

The two of them had a quiet breakfast together just enjoying each other's company before they eventually placed the dishes in the dishwasher to finish getting ready as they had to leave.

Stephanie was upstairs cleaning her teeth and getting some shoes whilst Paul went to get his jacket from the lounge. As he entered the lounge he noticed his cell phone on the coffee table and he immediately remembered what they had done the previous night with winding Scott and Emily up. He quickly walked over to his phone and picked it up not entirely sure what he was going to find when he lit up the screen but when he did light up the screen he was almost disappointed to only see notification of two text messages, he really thought after everything he had said to him about Stephanie he would have done more than that. Sitting down on the couch he decided to check out the texts that he had received:

 _Wow, you are still with her and she hasn't killed you. I am impressed._

 _Wait, you're *at* her house aren't you? You move fast :-P_

He couldn't help but laugh and shake his head at the second one. Quickly he fired off a response before Stephanie returned:

 _Wouldn't you like to know how fast I work?_

After sending the text he stood up and went to get his jacket from the corner. He was pulling his jacket on as Stephanie breezed into the room looking ready to leave, she immediately went to her phone and picked it up and seemed to be about to just dump it into the bag she was carrying, "Aren't you going to see what Emily had to say last night?"

Almost working on auto pilot she didn't think about what she was doing but when he sad that she immediately put her bag on the couch, "I forgot all about that. What did Scott say?"

"Something about being impressed that you hadn't killed me and then he realised that I was here and said I move fast. I'm not even sure how he already knew that I was with you but I would guess Sean blabbed. I don't understand why if he already knew we were together why he called asking if I wanted to look you up"

When she found out what he got as a response she almost didn't want to look, "If he picked up on that I don't think I even want to know what Emily is going to have said. Emily probably told Scott that you'd seen me though."

Despite her hesitance he moved closer to her as he really wanted to know, "Oh come on, please look. I need to know how crazy Emily went as it will help me survive my day."

"Gah!" She hated that he almost emotionally blackmailed her into looking but reluctantly she did look at her phone:

 _Scott showed me the photo, OH MY GOD!_

 _Please tell me that the two of you are at least friends now._

 _I take it back, you look like more than friends but we all knew that you two still cared for each other._

 _What's the verdict between you two?_

She knew that she needed to reply to Emily but right now she wasn't sure what to say to her so that could wait until later. Stephanie was about to put her phone in her bag when it vibrated in her hand with a new text notification:

 _Bitch stop teasing us or I will come by your work and literally pull the information out of you and it won't be gentle or polite._

Shaking her head she handed her phone to Paul, "This is the kind of shit I have to put up with."

As he read the text he was confused, "That does not sound like Emily."

"That is because it is not, it is Sasha. Em must have texted Sasha last night to tell her and Sasha needs to know now too."

She took her phone back from Paul before she dropped it into her bag and as she did so he took her hand and pulled her towards the door, "Well she can now wait even longer for being rude. Come on, let's get out of here before she comes by the house."

Quickly grabbing her keys as she passed them she set the alarm before they left.

After a twenty minute drive they were currently sat outside of his hotel, "I guess this is you. Maybe you can call me tomorrow or the next day when you're home and settled?"

He turned in his seat to look at her and took hold of one of her hands, "Or I could call you tonight before I leave? I will probably be stuck at the airport for a while before my flight so if it won't be a bother to you I would like to be able to hear your voice before I leave."

Yet again her cheeks were coloured with a blush and she was beginning to wonder why he made her blush so much. There wasn't a long waiting time here but as she turned to look at him she thought how she would happily rip into anybody that interrupted them, "You don't have to do that, but if you're free and you want to then I would love to talk to you."

Absently he played with her fingers, he wasn't sure how to be with her as he didn't want to come on too strong, "We're exclusive and I can call you my girlfriend right? I don't want to make an ass out of myself by misunderstanding something."

"We are exclusive and yes you can call me your girlfriend, if you want to."

Slowly exhaling he was so relieved as he had feared that he had misunderstood and he couldn't say that she was his girlfriend, "Thank heavens for that. I'd better go now though but I'll call you later beautiful."

She leant forward to close the distance between them at the same time that he did, when there was no space between their faces he captured her lips in a slow and sensual kiss before he pulled away again, "Have a good day and if my sister is too pushy about last night text me and I will set her straight."

Her eyes slid closed as she tried to memorise how it felt to be so close to him, reaching up with her free hand she stroked his cheek so that she could remember how it felt beneath her touch, "Thank you. Good luck with your meetings and knock them dead like I know you can."

"Thanks. Goodbye Steph, I will see you soon."

Reluctantly he got out of the car and headed inside the lobby of the hotel to quickly change and clean his teeth before he had to leave again.

Once he had entered the hotel she drove off. She was scared about going into work as she didn't know what the response was going to have been by the board to the logos that they had come up with, if they didn't like any of them then she would feel like a failure and like she had let her Dad down. When she stopped at stop lights she fiddled with the dial on the radio, turning some music on she needed to take her mind off what she was about to be greeted by when she got to work and what she had just left behind.


	18. Chapter 18

When Stephanie arrived at the offices it was pretty empty as very few people had arrived this early so she was relieved that she could get to her office unscathed.

She had been sat at her desk for a while when she heard the door knob being turned so she prepared herself for the interrogation to begin.

Lynn arrived at the office with an urgent piece of mail in her hand that had been hand delivered. With Stephanie's door shut firmly she assumed that she wasn't in yet so she pushed the door open and stepped inside mentally preparing herself a check list for the morning.

"Hello."

Screaming she dropped the mail on the floor, "What the hell woman? Are you trying to send me to an early grave?"

She sat back in her chair with an amused grin on her face, "Sure, if saying hello to somebody is known as a potential murder weapon."

"Why did you have the door shut anyway? Please tell me you haven't been here for hours or your Dad will probably kill me."

"I haven't been here for hours, only about twenty minutes or maybe thirty. I was early as . . ." She trailed off as she realised what she was about to say and if she could avoid saying that Paul had stayed the night with her then she would.

"You were early as?" When somebody trailed off then nine times out of ten it was because they were trying to hide something from you, after she had gone out to dinner with her brother the night before she wondered if he had anything to do with her being early.

She hadn't directly asked about Paul yet so she would just avoid telling her the entire truth, "I was out early on an errand so was able to get a jump on the work I didn't finish yesterday due to the meeting and leaving early."

"Leaving at a reasonable hour you mean."

"We will never agree on this but whatever. So do you have a reason to be here or can I get back to work?"

Having picked the letter up off the floor she placed it on the desk, "This was hand delivered so I'll now let you get back to your work but we'll talk at lunch."

Rolling her eyes in irritation she picked the letter up, "Talk at lunch about what?"

"Your date with my brother obviously."

"It wasn't a date!"

Slowly making her way towards the door Lynn smirked, "Mmmhmm, you keep telling yourself that. I'll see you at lunch." She quickly left the room and shut the door before she could try and deny it again.

The morning had so far been spent immersed in her work when she received an email from her Father asking her to drop by his office when she was free. Making sure that all of her current work had been saved she was going to get it over and done with so made her way to his office.

With a sharp knock to the door she waited to be invited in before she stepped inside and shut the door behind her then walking over to the desk and sitting across from him, "I received an email to say that you would like to see me."

Vince removed his glasses, setting them on the desk he sat back in his chair and studied his daughter. There was something different about her but he couldn't put a finger on what exactly it was, "I wanted to talk to you about the logos that I took to the board meeting with me last night."

Her stomach sank at the knowledge that the logo was the reason he had called her in here, this could not be good, "Okay. What did the board think of them then?"

"They loved them."

So convinced that he was going to say that they had hated them she immediately went on the defensive, "Well if they could tell me what they actually want then I might be able to get them to draw one more on that line for free." It was only when she stopped talking that she realised that her Dad was giving her a strange look, "What? You never know what you can get unless you ask."

He loved his daughter dearly but he wished that she would listen to the words coming out of his mouth, "We don't need to ask them to do another one because the board have already agreed on one that they like. If you had listened to what I said the first time you would have known this already."

"I'm sorry, I just expected you to say that they hated it. So what now?"

"Next I contact the company and ask them to draw an exact design for the logo and not a sketch. As for you, you can go back to work and I will let you know when I hear back from them."

Well that was a dismissal if ever she had been given one, "It's good that they like it but I'm going now, bye." After leaving her Dad's office she made her way back to hers with thoughts of whether this would mean that Paul would be back here on business soon.

The rest of the morning passed quickly as Stephanie focussed on her work, after lunch she had a meeting and then hopefully Paul would call so when she realised that it was lunchtime she didn't even care that she was about to get a grilling from Lynn.

When the door was pushed open she cleared a little room on her desk, "So what did you get me?"

"That would be a ham salad sandwich and some water because you drink enough coffee as it is."

Playfully glaring at the other woman as she ripped her sandwich open she was not impressed, "You only wish that you could drink as much coffee as I can."

Lynn was so grateful that she got on so well with her boss as it made her job so much more enjoyable than her last, "I really don't, I think you're addicted to it." She stuck her tongue out at her as she ripped open her own sandwich, "So how did it go last night?"

She stared down at the half of her sandwich in her hand that she had literally taken one bite out of and shook her head, "You couldn't wait until we'd eaten to ask?"

"Well I could have, I just didn't want to. So what happened? How did it go?"

Did she tell her everything or did she make her wait for Paul to tell her?

Silence didn't give her the answers she wanted, "Oh come on, you know what men are like with gossip so he won't tell me anything. Please help a girl out here."

Part of her wanted to be honest but there was a bigger part of her that doubted how long they would actually be back together so didn't want to be honest, "It was nice, we had a really good catch up and cleared the air."

"And? That can't be all that happened surely."

It technically wasn't all that happened but that was as far as she was going, "Why would anything else happen? Nothing has changed between us breaking up and now."

Lynn almost felt like she had missed something with their break up story, she knew that they had broken up because he had the internship but he might be coming back, "Wait I'm confused, I thought something had possibly changed."

"No, I'm pretty sure nothing has changed seeing as I still live here and he still lives there."

She opened her mouth to tell her that he might not be living there for long but quickly closed it again around her sandwich. If he hadn't told her then there must be a reason behind it and she wasn't about to tell her if he hadn't.

From that moment on Stephanie changed the subject and was relieved to get away from the talk of Paul so that she didn't feel guilty about lying to his sister.

At least an hour had passed since Lynn had gone home for the evening and Stephanie was still working, she knew that she should go home but she didn't have a reason to go home. There was only a small chance that Paul was going to call her and she would rather be here working than sat at home staring at the clock wondering if he was going to call.

The entire day had been spent in back to back meetings, he had barely managed a sandwich at lunch so when he arrived at the airport with plenty of time before his flight he jumped at the opportunity to grab some dinner.

Once he had eaten he had one more thing that he absolutely had to do before his flight, call his girlfriend. He found himself a quiet spot near the window and took a seat to call her and hopefully find her at home.

As her phone began to ring she blindly reached out to grab it as her eyes remained firmly glued to the screen, "Hello?"

"Are you at home?"

Tearing her eyes away from the screen she removed her phone from her ear to look at the called id and frowned, "Paul? Why does it matter."

The fact that she evaded giving him an answer told him that she wasn't, "Yes it's me. As your boyfriend it is my responsibility to make sure that you take care of yourself and I expect you to go home at a reasonable hour. If you **really** have some work to do then there is such a thing as a laptop, use that please."

Normally she would get mad at somebody telling her what to do but coming from him she didn't mind all that much, "I guess I could work from home if necessary."

"You should leave when Lynn does, unless you have a meeting or something, then you can eat at a reasonable hour and I know that when I get home and can call you then I won't risk catching you in the car."

Immediately she began saving her work to go home as soon as the call ended, "For being my boyfriend of less than a day you sure do have a lot of demands."

At the back of his mind he had thoughts of what his sister had said about her working too hard so if he could be instrumental in getting her out of the office and hopefully not working so hard then he would do it, "It's technically not a demand, just a really polite request."

She couldn't help but laugh at that, "Oh is that so? I guess I should try to make it happen then. You say you want me home when you call but when will I know what days to expect your call?"

"Every day? Unless you would rather not speak to me every day because you have some other dude on the side."

Another guy on the side? She would be offended if she thought that he was actually serious, "I love hearing your voice, I missed it. So how were the meetings?"

The sound of a plane taking off distracted him and made him think about leaving her within the next hour and he hated it, "They were okay I guess, far more serious than ours was yesterday and I don't think they were entirely impressed by what I drew for them."

Apparently being apart and not being able to comfort him when he was down was going to be a lot harder than she had ever though possible. There was nothing she wanted more than to hug him and tell him that they were stupid if they didn't like anything he drew, "I'm sure that it went better than you expected. They're probably more professional than I am and just had a poker face on as they didn't want you to know exactly how much they liked the things you drew."

As much as he didn't want to admit it it was really nice having somebody on the end of the phone who would try to make him feel better, "You have to say that but thank you, I appreciate it. I didn't think you were that unprofessional but maybe we're just being down on ourselves."

"I think we probably are. You should wait until you get back to work and see what sort of feedback your boss gives you, if he has heard from any of them anyway."

"As long as he doesn't say 'you're fired' I think I will be happy." He didn't verbalise it but he wouldn't be devastated if he got fired because then he could definitely move home and be closer to Stephanie.

Stephanie was about to say something when her office door slammed open causing her to jump in her seat, "What the fuck?"

He couldn't see anything, all he heard was a slam of a door and he immediately began to panic, "Stephanie? What's going on? Who's there? Are you okay?"

She tried to calm her racing heart as she stared daggers at the woman in front of her, "Seriously Sasha? Are you trying to kill me and send me to an early grave?"

Sasha crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at her friend, "Well maybe if you hadn't ignored our texts all day then I wouldn't have to be here right now."

Realising that she was not going to be able to continue her phone conversation she sighed heavily, "I've got to go and deal with this, I'm sorry. I'll text you when I'm done here."

He actually felt sorry for her, he would not want to be dealing with Sasha when she didn't get the gossip she was clearly seeking, "It's okay, it can't be helped. I will text you when I land to let you know that I got there safely and I will call you when I get in from work. Don't work too hard and remember what I said about going home at a reasonable hour."

"Yes yes I get it. I'll talk to you tomorrow, be safe." Reluctantly ending the call she placed her phone onto her desk, "So what exactly can I do for you?"

"Have you eaten?"

Stephanie stopped from beginning to pack up her things and looked back up at one of her best friends, "Does it **look** like I have eaten?"

Sasha could only shrug, "I don't know, you might have eaten at your desk or something."

"I have not eaten but why do you care tonight? I thought you were only here to get gossip out of me?"

Well the original plan was just to come for gossip but plans change because she looked different, "We can eat and talk, I actually can multi task you know. I've missed you though Steph, it's been so long since we have actually hung out properly that I want to make the most of it whilst I am here and you are clearly leaving anyway."

She placed the last few things in her bag and stood up, "You're not going to shut up until you get the gossip, I know what you're like. I guess I have to eat so come on, let's get out of here and go and find some food."

As soon as she walked around the desk Sasha grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her towards the door, "At last, it's about time that you made time for me."

Stephanie could only laugh and shake her head as she turned the lights off on her way out, she knew that she had been distant from her friends but she had her reasons however now she wasn't going to get out of anything as Stacy wasn't here to play peacemaker.


	19. Chapter 19

They were seated in a quiet Chinese restaurant and exchanged some minor small talk about how they were as they decided what they would like to eat. Once their orders had been taken the time for small talk was over and Sasha was going in hard, "So what happened with Paul last night? Did you sleep with him? Did you kiss him? Are you mad at him?"

"Why do you care if I slept with him? Do you want to?"

She moved her chair a little closer to the table, "Have you ever known me to want to sleep with him? He has always been yours and you know that none of us would touch him like that. I only asked as you seemed pretty cosy and you had taken him back to your house."

Stephanie wasn't ready to tell anybody that they were back together and were going to give a long distance relationship a go, she didn't want to hear anybody else's opinion on the matter as it was incredibly early days. She had to tell her something though so she would bluff her way through it, "Yes we went back to my house but no we didn't have sex. It had been so long since we'd spoken or seen each other we just went somewhere quiet to catch up. Before you ask, yes we are going to remain in contact this time and no I'm not mad at anybody for keeping us apart by not giving him my number."

A small smile graced her lips at the way Stephanie's eyes lit up a little when she talked about him, "You seem to have got closure on the Paul situation so does that mean that you're going to move on and find a new guy at last? I have a couple in mind that I would love to set you up with."

"The reason that I don't have a boyfriend was not because of Paul, it was because of work and that hasn't changed so no, I don't want you to set me up with anybody thank you."

Unable to prevent her eyes from rolling she did not understand why her job was so important to her that she would sacrifice love, especially now, "When will your job calm down so you can get a man? You deserve to be happy in all aspects of your life."

There were only so many times she could listen to people telling her that she needed a man to make her happy, "I don't need a man to be happy, I didn't need one then and I don't need one now. Can we not discuss my love life though please? You say you never see me so make the most of this."

Much to Stephanie's surprise Sasha did change the subject and the two ended up having a nice evening catching up, gossiping and just generally enjoying each other's company. They didn't part until eleven so Stephanie didn't exactly get home early and by the time she did she was exhausted.

She didn't bother to check her answerphone or mail, she just went straight up the stairs and quickly changed before she fell into bed. It took her a while of tossing and turning to get comfortable because every time she breathed she smelt Paul which made her want to hug him and it just reminded her of exactly how far away they were. Eventually settling she lay on her side with her face ever so close to the pillow he had slept on the night before that smelt of him which comforted her into a deep sleep.

All but stumbling through the door Paul winced as he fell into it slamming it against the wall, he was so tired and his eyes were kind of bleary that he was misjudging his steps all over the place. He decided that the best course of action so he didn't get shouted at by his neighbours was just to crawl into bed and deal with his bag tomorrow.

Sat on the edge of the bed he kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt before he removed his pants and socks, before he threw them in a pile he removed his phone from the pocket of his pants and then threw it all to join the previously removed shirt. Quickly turning his phone off airplane mode he noticed a few texts from friends and one from his sister asking him to let her know he got home safely so that she could tell their parents, he rubbed his eyes before he replied to her and was about to put his phone on the side when his eyes caught the time. It was nearly three in the morning which meant that it was nearly six where his girlfriend was so Stephanie would be getting up soon, one more text before he went to sleep wouldn't hurt:

 _Hey, I just got home and am now going to sleep but I'll call you tonight. Have a good day xxx_

As soon as he was sure that the text had sent he crawled into bed and placed the phone on the side, it was late and he was exhausted so when his head hit the pillow he fell straight to sleep.

When the alarm started beeping Stephanie opened one eye and slammed her fist on top of it to shut it up, it was six thirty in the morning and she was comfortable in bed so just didn't want to move. She didn't even realise that she had fallen back to sleep until the beeping started all over again, this time she turned her alarm off and sat up fully in bed so that she couldn't fall asleep. Swinging her legs out of bed she got up to go and have a shower.

After a quick shower she walked back into the bedroom and went to check her phone smiling when she saw that she had a text from him, it would take some getting used to having him back in her life as her boyfriend but she did like that she woke up to a text from him. Her fingers typed out a quick response before she threw the phone onto the bed and went to get dressed to get to work.

Paul was woken up by his alarm after just over three hours sleep and he immediately knew that he was going to need a lot of coffee to help him get through the day.

The desire to get out of bed this morning was low so he rolled over to get his phone from the table beside his bed to see if his girlfriend had replied and he wasn't disappointed:

 _Glad you got home safely. Have a good day and I will talk to you tonight xxx_

Reluctantly climbing out of bed he needed to shower and then get some coffee and something to eat, or just coffee, before he went to work.

There was nothing like conversations stopping and people turning to look at you to set your paranoia on fire but that was exactly what Paul experienced as he walked into work with coffee in hand.

He was feet from his work space when he heard his name being called, slowly turning around he was relieved to see that it wasn't one of the bosses, "Can I help you?"

"I was supposed to pass on a message as soon as you arrived but I missed you. Your presence has immediately been requested in Chris' office, good luck."

Good luck? He was going to need more than luck if he was being summoned to Chris' office so quickly, "Thanks, I think. I'll just put my bag down and I will go in."

True to his word he dropped his bag, but kept hold of his coffee, and made his way to Chris' office, knocking gently on the door he waited to be invited in before he pushed the door open and stepped inside, "You wanted to see me Chr . . ." He stopped dead when he saw Chris, Marvin and Lucas, this was not a good sign having all three of his bosses sat in front of him, "Good morning to you all."

Chris was quick to motion to the seat in front of the desk, "Take a seat Paul, we wanted to talk to you about your trip."

The words 'oh shit' kept repeating in his head as he walked the short distance to the desk and took a seat, "Whatever it is that I did wrong I'm sorry, I have never done something like that before but I can promise you that I tried my best."

All three bosses got a chuckle out of how panicked the younger man was but Lucas was the one to speak up, "You didn't do anything wrong, as far as we know so far, we wanted to know how you felt it went?"

His face flushed red at the embarrassment he felt at the situation, "I'm sorry, I just assumed that with all three of you here you had received some bad feedback or something. I thought it went well, all of the companies seemed to like the sketches I did for them and I made sure to tell them that if they wanted tweaking to get in contact and I would do so."

"Good work. We actually have already had contact with McMahon Enterprises yesterday. Apparently their board was incredibly impressed with the sketches that you did and they would like to set up a further meeting as they want us to work on the logo for them."

He didn't understand why Stephanie hadn't told him yesterday that they had the job, "That's so odd that Stephanie didn't say anything."

"Stephanie? Who is she and why would she tell you directly?"

Honesty was the best policy in this situation, "My ex and kind of sort of now current girlfriend. Before I went to New York I had absolutely no idea that I was meeting with my ex-girlfriend from College. When I left to come to California for the internship we split up and soon after lost touch and I haven't been in touch with her since which totals five or so years. The first I knew of my history with the person was when I walked into her office and we came face to face. I didn't think it would matter if after our meeting we met up and went out for dinner, we ended up admitting that we still had feelings for each other and we decided to try having a long distance relationship. I assume that somebody else is taking over the case now so my status with her won't matter."

Marvin couldn't help but jump in, "Well if that isn't a romantic story of fate I don't know what is. You weren't even meant to be going to begin with but yet you did and you found yourself face to face with an ex at the time where we are discussing opening a new office over there. I assume if we do open an office over there you will be looking to transfer closer to her? You can be honest here."

"If there was a vacancy available then yes, not specifically for my girlfriend but to be closer to my entire family as it sucks being on the other side of the country to them and missing out on basically everything. I am aware that the chances may be small or it will be tough competition but it is something I would definitely like to be considered for please."

Looks were exchanged between the three men behind the desk, "Actually that is incredibly helpful to know ahead of time like this that you are very interested in the move. Most of the employees here are settled in California or have family here and would not want to move so it will save us a lot of trouble knowing that you for certain would like to move, if it came to it. Thank you for this Paul, it has been incredibly informative."

It sounded like he would actually get the move back to the east coast if they opened a new office there, he didn't want to bank on it but it did sound positive. Lifting his coffee to his lips he took a sip, "You're very welcome. Is there anything else you need from me just now? I should get back to working on the clients I do have as I have neglected their files whilst I have been away."

"No you're okay, thank you Paul."

Standing up he forced a tired smile before he made his way out of the office to go and begin work as soon as he actually finished his now barely warm coffee.

With Paul safely out of the room Lucas spoke up for the first time having enjoyed observing the interaction in front of him, "Maybe this is just me but I believed him when he said that he had no idea that he was meeting with an ex."

It was Chris' turn to speak up next, "I do as well. I also believe that he doesn't want to deceive us in any way so if we asked him anything he would answer it honestly, I mean he already admitted before he left that his sister worked for that McMahon company as a Secretary type person so I don't think we have to worry about his honesty or loyalty."

Marvin had listened to what his partners had said and he agreed with everything that they had said, "And this is why I think he is probably a smart choice to be the number one choice to move to the new office, providing we get more work anyway. It might be a good idea to start training him up and getting him ready to really handle things by himself."

"Agreed."

"I agree."

With all three agreed Marvin knew what he had to do, "I will do some research and have a chat with him next week so it doesn't look too suspicious."

The sound of the phone ringing interrupted the conversation, as Chris picked it up to answer the call Marvin and Lucas quickly headed for the door.


	20. Chapter 20

It had been a couple of days since Paul had returned home and true to his word he had called Stephanie every night and over the weekend they had spoken a couple of times a day just because they could.

When he walked into work on Monday morning he was in a good mood until he logged into his work emails and saw one from Marvin:

 _Meeting at 10am in my office._

Either they really enjoyed scaring the crap out of him or something was going on and they weren't happy with his work, either way he would find out at 10 but before that he had alterations to make for the world's most annoying client.

9:59am he was knocking on Marvin's door, he would prefer to be a minute early and not a minute late when it came to a meeting with his boss that he feared could be the end of his career. When he entered the office he shut the door and took a seat, "A meeting first thing on a Monday morning? I haven't done anything wrong have I?"

"Absolutely not, I just told the others that I would talk to you about this as they're busy today so it saves Chris the hassle."

If he hadn't done anything wrong and it was something Chris wanted to talk to him about he was confused, "I'm lost. I don't think I have had to speak to you guys so much ever in my career here so it makes me feel like I have done something wrong."

He wasn't taking his time with this, he was just coming right out and asking his questions and he liked it, "I won't bullshit with you. You aren't in any sort of trouble but as a result of your meetings last week we have had a couple of calls from more companies in New York and they want to schedule a meeting with a view to employing us to do some work."

"That is really awesome news, I bet Chris is happy."

Chuckling Marvin nodded his head, "He is mildly hopeful that this will turn into something more. The reason that we wanted to talk to you though is that we wanted to discuss with you whether you would be interested in joining Chris back on the east coast for an entire week? As you did so well last time we thought that it would be a good learning experience, if you are interested."

It was a no brainer for him, not only because he could hopefully squeeze in some time with Stephanie but because it gave him an opportunity to prove himself to his bosses, "Absolutely I am. Just tell me when and where and I will be there."

"I knew that we could rely on you Paul. We are looking to book the meetings for next week so your flight will probably be Sunday, maybe a red eye though depending on Chris. How would you feel about a red eye and then going almost straight into a meeting?"

Would it be ideal for him? No. Would he be able to do it? Yes, as long as he got coffee he could do anything and as Stephanie had told him a really great place to get coffee it definitely was possible, "Sure, as long as there is enough time to freshen up and to stop off at this awesome coffee place I know of."

The fact that he was so dedicated that he only cared that he had enough time to freshen up and get coffee and not the amount of hours of sleep that he could get said a lot to him. He just kept proving himself and seemingly without trying to suck up, "That's good. I will get back to you on the details when it has been booked."

 _One week later_

Paul smiled at his sister as she opened the door of her house to him but soon he was scowling at her as she spoke, "Wow you look like shit."

"You have to be the politest sister known to man. If you must know I barely slept so I really need this hot shower. This is Chris who is one of my bosses and Chris this not so polite person is my sister Lynn."

Despite his exhaustion Chris smiled and extended his hand, "It is very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for this though, I really appreciate you allowing us to freshen up here and not having to pay for an extra night in a hotel."

She shook his hand before ushering them both in, "It's okay. I have laid out two towels upstairs for you and there is breakfast in the kitchen so just help yourselves. I have to go to work soon so kindly lock up after yourselves and drop the key in to me when you meet with Steph's Dad."

"Any more demands?"

Choosing to ignore his comment she motioned to the stairs, "The bathroom is just on your right as you go down the hall."

Chris smiled politely and headed up the stairs to shower so that he could prepare himself for the meetings ahead.

Once his boss was out of the way Paul pulled his sister into the kitchen to talk to her.

She followed her brother into the kitchen, "What's going on?"

"Steph doesn't know I'm here, actually nobody knows that I am here. I don't know how much time I will have free so I didn't want get anybody's hopes up that we can hang out. I want to make time for her so I'm going to talk to Chris over breakfast to see what the plan is but I want to surprise her so if you could keep your mouth shut for now I would be grateful please."

The last thing she was going to do was ruin his surprise, "I can keep quiet for you. I hope she doesn't say anything that involves me lying to her, that could be my job."

His sister always had to be dramatic, "I highly doubt that she will fire you for not telling her that her boyfriend has come to the area for work."

"Maybe not but it's on you if she gets mad. Talking of getting mad though, I need to get going so I will see you later, don't forget my key."

Mock saluting her he rolled his eyes, "Yes Ma'am."

Lynn smacked her brother in the shoulder for his smart mouth before she picked up her bag from the side and left the room.

With things with his sister sorted so that she would keep his secret he turned his attention to getting the coffee on whilst Chris was in the shower.

Once the bathroom was free he had a quick shower and cleaned his teeth before he headed downstairs to grab some toast.

Sat across from his boss Paul buttered his toast, "So I was wondering what sort of free time I will have this week? I don't know much of anything that is going on and I'm okay with that, I just wondered if there will be time to squeeze in lunch or dinner or something with my girlfriend?"

"Once the meetings finish each day your evenings will be your own to do with how you want so you can have dinner with her most evenings most likely. I believe it is Wednesday where there isn't any meetings until the afternoon as I have something else I have to attend to but other than that we are actually pretty packed out."

The thought of spending every single evening with Stephanie was just perfection, "It's a shame that you booked a hotel room for me, I may have been able to save you money by staying with Steph."

Chris couldn't help but chuckle, "I didn't even make the bookings. Let me have a look and see if I can maybe make an arrangement with them to cancel it and for us not to be charged just incase she does offer for you to stay with her."

"Thanks. I don't want to cost you money if I don't have to. I would have said something sooner only I thought it was going to be a packed trip morning to night."

He watched his boss leave the room before he tucked into his toast, he couldn't wait to finish work tonight and surprise Stephanie so that he could hold her in his arms again, it was going to be exactly what he needed today. He was brought out of his thoughts when Chris walked back in again, "How did it go?"

"I think I spoke to a manager on a good day or one who is madly in love because when I explained that your College sweetheart might object to you staying in a hotel when you live on the other side of the country and they caved and said that as long as I tell them on check in they will wipe all mentions of a second room and they won't charge for it."

Paul did think he was quite romantic but even he didn't see why it was such an adorable story that they would wipe it. He wasn't bothered that he wouldn't have to stay in the hotel if Stephanie offered otherwise though, it meant he wouldn't ended up feeling some guilt over his decision, "That's good. I don't know if she will want me to stay with her but if she does I now know that I can."

The two finished their breakfasts and then they tidied up the kitchen so it almost looked like they hadn't been there at all before they left for their first meeting.

Arriving at McMahon Enterprises Paul was nervous, he knew that this time around they were meeting with Stephanie's Father and the last time he had been here Vince hadn't been entirely welcoming.

Paul walked beside Chris as they made their way to Vince's office, they were a couple of minutes early but that would benefit Paul as he could run across and give his sister her key back before they began.

"We have an appointment with Vince McMahon at 10."

"That's fine. You can probably go straight in so bear with me a moment please."

Stood there waiting he played with the key in his pocket until he finally heard, "You can go straight in."

Helplessly looking in the direction of Stephanie's office he could only follow Chris into the office and hope that his sister didn't think that he had forgotten.

Almost three hours later and finally they were leaving Vince's office, "I will get this drawn up on the computer and have it sent over to you for approval asap. We are here on business all week so although I have my laptop with me and can get started on it I can't promise that it will get finished before I get back to the office as we are incredibly busy."

"That's okay, it is not urgent so take your time. Thank you both for coming all of the way back out here today to work on the logo some more."

"It was our pleasure, thank you for employing us to do the work on your new logo despite our location."

Vince frowned at the mention of their location, "You really should think about moving over here, you could get a whole lot more work if your office was over here."

Chuckling Chris nodded his head, "We are contemplating the idea of opening an office over here, it just depends on if we can get enough work to justify the cost but it is not something that we have ruled out."

"Good, I'm glad. Good luck for the rest of your meetings and I look forward to getting the almost finished logo."

"Thank you, we appreciate it. I will be in touch so for now we shall say goodbye."

The three men shook hands before Vince made his way back into his office.

He waited until Vince was in his office and had shut the door and then Paul spoke up, "I need to drop the key off to my sister, I have time don't I?"

"You do. We don't have another meeting until after lunch and that is where I am going now but obviously you can come with me unless you have other plans."

Plans were one thing he didn't have as nobody really knew that he was here, "I have no plans. This shouldn't take long though and then we can find something to eat."

There was a short walk to his sister's desk and once he reached it he tossed her key onto it in front of her, "I'm sorry I couldn't drop this off before the meeting, Vince could see us right away so I didn't have time."

Lynn raised her eyebrow as she picked up her key and looked up at him, "That's okay, thank you for dropping it off anyway. Talking of time, do you have time to say hello to Stephanie?"

As much as he wanted to he didn't know that he should, "I don't know, we were just about to go and have lunch."

"Go and say hello to her, I'll just text my wife a minute and check on the kids."

Briefly hesitating he didn't plan to surprise her here but it would be nice getting to hug her, "Okay, thank you." Walking the short distance to the door he knocked on it gently waiting to be allowed in.

Stephanie knew that she should be working, she had been working all morning but right now all she could think about was Paul as she hadn't heard from him since last night. Playing with the phone in her hand she wanted to text him but she didn't know what to say as he hadn't replied to her morning text so maybe he was just really busy? Brought out of her thoughts she looked at the clock and realised it was almost lunchtime so it was probably Lynn asking if she wanted anything, "Come in."

As soon as he was given permission he pushed the door open, "Sorry to bother you but I thought I would say hello whilst I was in the area."

That voice was male and so not Lynn but oh so familiar. Her head snapped up to look at the owner of the voice to see if her ears were deceiving her and they weren't, "Paul?!" Quickly getting up from her seat she all but ran around her desk and straight into his arms.

When he saw her coming around her desk he opened his arms to her and then held her tightly as she slipped her arms around his waist and held him. No words needed to be exchanged as they held each other tightly, it had been a long two weeks since they last got to hold each other so this was long overdue.

Finally lifting her head from his chest she unwrapped her arms from around his waist and wrapped them around his neck pulling him closer to her, "I get kisses don't I?"

He had been dreaming of kissing her for the past few nights so he was surprised that he had lasted this long, "Yes, absolutely." He slipped his one hand behind her neck holding her closely and pressed his lips against hers.

Vince was going through the logos and feeling guilty for taking this off his daughter so he decided to go and get her opinion. Gathering together his favourites he made his way out of the office and straight over to his daughter's, "Is she in?"

Nodding her head Lynn opened her mouth to answer him and say that she wasn't alone but before she could get a word out he had already opened the door, "What the hell is going on in here?"


	21. Chapter 21

"What the hell is going on in here?" Those eight words were enough to make Stephanie's entire body go cold. Slowly pulling away from her boyfriend's kisses she removed herself from his arms immediately feeling empty, "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Does it matter what **I** am doing here? The bigger question is what the hell is going on here between the two of you?"

Suddenly feeling like she was five years old again and being told off for having a cookie before dinner when she was told not to she looked down at the floor, "I'm sorry."

Paul didn't know what was going on between Stephanie and her Dad but he wasn't going to stand back and allow her to apologise for having a private moment in her private office, "I'm not. Mr McMahon Stephanie is my girlfriend, we dated back in College before I moved out to California and then out of the blue we reconnected after my first meeting with her a few weeks back. We haven't seen each other since then so as it is her lunch time I came to surprise her as she did not know that I was visiting this week. With all due respect Sir, when somebody's office door is shut it is normally polite to knock before you enter."

She could only brace herself for the inevitable explosion, she just hoped that it didn't cost his company the job.

As much as he wanted to be mad at the young man for the way that he spoke to him he couldn't deny that it was nice to see somebody unapologetic about who he was dating and it was even better to see his daughter with a boyfriend. Having just spent the last couple of hours with the young man he found himself not raging with anger, "The two of you should come for dinner one evening when you're in the area Paul."

"What?!" Stephanie was shocked at the sudden turn of events, she thought for sure that Paul was about to get thrown out and he was going to be threatened with losing the contract for the company, "Why are you inviting us over for dinner? Why do you not look like you're about to blow a blood vessel and have a heart attack?"

Vince was quite amused by his daughter's reaction, "Well I think this young man is probably the reason that you have been going home at a reasonable hour."

Paul couldn't help but smile with pride knowing that what he had fought so hard for had been noticed, "Guilty as charged Sir. Being three hours behind I told Stephanie that she should go home when my sister does so that I know when I call I won't catch her when she is on the road."

She couldn't help but pout and cross her arms, "Are you two seriously bonding over telling me what to do?"

"I do believe that we are. So when can the two of you come for dinner? Your Mom would be ecstatic to know that you have a boyfriend and to meet him."

Her Mom would be almost as bad as Sasha and Stacey will be when they find out, "I don't even know how long he is here Dad, we haven't gotten past the 'it's so good to see you' part yet so I will get back to you. What can I do for you?"

Absently waving the logos in the air he shook his head, "These can wait until after lunch, have fun the two of you." The older man turned around and left the room as abruptly as he had entered it.

Stood there with her mouth practically on the floor she could only stare at the now closed door.

Paul pulled her back into his arms, "Your Dad seems to like me now."

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she leaned into him, "He's easily pleased, can't you tell?"

Kissing the side of her head he held her a little tighter, "Well I like being on his good side. We should get going to lunch, you don't mind if Chris comes too do you?"

"Shouldn't it be whether he minds if I come?"

There was no time to argue about it so he released her from his arms and took hold of her hand and led her towards the door. The two headed out to the hallway but Paul immediately groaned when he saw his boss and his sister in an intense conversation, "Back off Lynn, I want to keep this job thank you. Chris, you don't mind if Steph tags along do you? We kind of told her Dad that she was on her lunch break."

Chris couldn't help but smile at the couple as she looked so sheepish, "Of course. Maybe Stephanie can show us somewhere good to eat?"

"Of course. I need to grab my purse though Paul, food isn't free."

A gentleman never let his lady pay and now that they were officially together he definitely wasn't going to let her pay, "Not happening, you don't need money. Let's go so we can all eat before we have to go back to work."

Ten minutes later and they were sat around a table in a small café, "So how long are you in the area?"

Throwing a smirk in the younger man's direction as he looked over the menu Chris couldn't believe that she still didn't know, "All week. Our days consist of meetings and our evenings consist of empty hotel rooms and in my case calling home to check on the wife and kids."

If he had the evenings all to himself did that mean that she could or would see him most nights? As much as she wanted to ask she really didn't want to make things awkward in front of his boss so would wait and just change the subject for now, "So how long have you been with your wife?"

"Coming up later this year it will be twenty five years that we have been in a relationship, we have had our good times and our bad times but I love her to death and I am pretty sure that she feels the same way, most of the time." He punctuated his statement with a soft laugh, "So how long have the two of you known each other?"

"We have known each other for about eight years but six of those we didn't talk so I'm not sure if we can count those. This time around no matter what happens I am not going to lose contact with her."

Stephanie felt her heart melt just a little and reached underneath the table to squeeze his hand, "No matter what happens we'll keep in contact."

Curious about their relationship Chris couldn't help but pry slightly, "So how does this work between you as you are in separate states?"

How it worked was a question to be answered once they figured it out, "Right now we are in a long distance relationship and we are trying to figure out how we will manage to spend time together but once that is figured out I'm sure we could tell you."

"If the move ha . . ." Chris stopped talked when Paul shot him a glare, why was he insisting that he stopped talking?

To cover for the fact that he had essentially cut his boss off Paul jumped in with a change of subject, "So what did my sister tell you?"

When they had all finished eating Chris excused himself to the bathroom leaving the couple alone at the table which gave Stephanie an opportunity to ask a burning question, "So what are your plans for this week?"

Paul couldn't stop himself from reaching across the table and gripping her hand, "Well I thought maybe we could have a date night or two and the rest of the time will be just me and an empty hotel room. What do you think about a date or two?"

A date or two sounded nice, seeing him every single day sounded so much better though, "I know something that sounds a whole lot better."

With a raised eyebrow he looked at her curiously, "You do? Please don't say not seeing me at all or you will ruin my day."

Turning her hand in his she began to play with his fingers, "Well no, I was thinking that you staying with me for the week sounded a whole lot better than a couple of dates."

As much as he wanted her to say that he hadn't really expected her to so it was a pleasant surprise that she actually did, "Do you really mean that? You actually want me to stay with you every night all week long?"

"Well yes, you are my boyfriend and I hardly see you so I'm not stupid enough to want you to stay the other side of town when I could sleep in your arms every night."

Chris' reappearance at the table forced Paul to pull his hand away feeling guilty, "I'll call you when we're done to see where you are to know whether I come to yours or the office and then you can take me home with you?"

Alarmed she looked between the two men, "Shouldn't you ask Chris if it is okay first?"

The older man stood there confused, "Ask me what? As long as it isn't for the afternoon off the answer is probably yes."

He decided to act like he hadn't already discussed this with his boss so she didn't think he was being presumptuous, "Steph has invited me to stay with her for the week, if it's okay?"

"Sure, whatever. I'll give you a list of the appointments and the addresses so you know where you have to be and can make your way there."

She couldn't help but feel slightly jealous that it was so easy for him with his boss, "Thank you Chris, I appreciate you being so cool about it. I need to get going back to work though as I need to go straight to see my Dad. It was very nice meeting you and I'll see you later." Giving her boyfriend a quick kiss to the cheek she shook Chris' hand before she left took a quick glance at the bill feeling a wave of guilt hit her that she didn't bring her purse with her before she left.

After they had paid the bill the two men made their way out of the café, "I'm not one for giving opinions on other people's relationship normally but you two make a really good couple and it is nice to see two people just happy to be around each other without needing to be all over each other."

"It's funny but we've never been that couple that are all over each other, maybe because we started off as friends but we've always just been happy to be around each other. It sounds pathetic to say it now but back in College we'd be happy to just be together doing our assignments or hanging out in the park and she'd be reading for class or fun and I'd just be sketching."

They stood on the sidewalk and attempted to hail a cab, "But isn't that the best type of relationship? One where you don't need to be talking or all over each other just to have a good time. I'd much rather be comfortable doing nothing with my wife than having to constantly fill awkward silences."

When he heard somebody else saying it it sounded so much better and did make sense, "I guess you're right there, couples that aren't comfortable in silence are destined for a miserable life."

Stephanie arrived back in the offices after lunch and headed straight to see her Dad, knocking on the door as his Secretary wasn't around she wasn't surprised that he wasn't at lunch and invited her in, "I'm sorry about earlier Da . . . Vince."

He put his glasses on his desk and motioned to the seat in front of him, "Don't apologise, Paul had a point so technically you didn't do anything wrong. Don't get me wrong, I am not thrilled that you were all over each other like that but you didn't have your tongue down his throat so I'm not scarred for life."

"Oh. I promise not to touch him on company property from now on."

A heavy sigh left Vince's mouth at her statement, "I was teasing you Stephanie, just relax will you? How come I have never heard of him before?"

Why would she tell her parents that she lost her best friend and the one guy that she could picture her life with because she chose the company? That was not a conversation to have now so she was going to get out of it, "What was it that you were coming to see me for anyway?"

Reaching about blindly on the organised chaos that was his desk he finally got his hands on the logos that he had put down when he returned and pushed them towards her, "I was coming to show you these, they are the slightly more polished versions of the sketch that Paul drew and the board agreed on. I was actually looking for your opinion on them."

"Why? You took the job off me didn't you so why does my opinion matter?"

He did feel like he deserved that, if it had been anybody else that had the job he would have let them see it through to the end but he had taken it off her, "Of course your opinion matters, just because I took it off you it doesn't mean that I don't value your opinion."

She had to bite her tongue at that so she didn't get in trouble so focussed on looking at the logos and not on the stupidity of his statement.

After a long afternoon of meetings Paul walked down the corridor towards Stephanie's office just looking forward to going home with her and collapsing on a comfortable couch hopefully with her in his arms. As he approached the office he forced a smile at his sister, "Still here?"

Lynn looked at her brother and nodded her head, "Still awake?"

He was trying so hard to keep his eyes open at this point, "Barely. Is she free? I can maybe take a nap whilst she finishes work."

Although she felt bad for him she couldn't help but laugh, "She's in, she's free, she's all yours."

Walking past her he stopped briefly and bent down to kiss her cheek, "Thanks sis, you've been amazing and I appreciate it all. Chris will be emailing me the schedule for the week so maybe we can do lunch?"

It wasn't often that her brother was affectionate so she was going to enjoy this moment, "We should do lunch if you have time for me. You're welcome for what I did for you though, it's what sisters are for."

Without knocking he quietly opened Stephanie's office door incase she was busy and then shut it behind him before he placed his luggage off to the side and then turned to see that she wasn't on the phone, "Hey."

"Hey you, you look exhausted. I have a couple of things to finish before we can leave but feel free to enjoy the comforts of my couch."

He took a quick look at the couch and realised how comfortable it looked, "Thank you." The distance to the couch was short but before he got there he felt the guilt of not having greeted her properly so instead he walked over to her desk and carefully leant over it to kiss her gently, "I missed you."

They had only been in the same state for a day and already she knew that if she had her way there would be variations of this greeting happening every night but sadly she was going to really miss him when he left. As her hand stroked his cheek the stubble from his beard there tickled the palm of her hand, "I missed you too. Now take a seat and rest, you look like you need it."

Paul turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand before he went to make himself comfortable on the couch as she went back to work.


	22. Chapter 22

Her work had taken her slightly longer than she had expected so when she looked up an hour later she saw him sound asleep on the couch.

Lynn had gone home a good half an hour ago so Stephanie packed up her things and turned off her computer before she walked around her desk and put her bag with his luggage and then turned her attention to waking her boyfriend.

Perching herself on the small bit of couch beside his body she stroked his hair back before she bent down and kissed him softly, "Wake up Paul."

It took a minute but finally his bleary eyes opened to look at her, "Huh?"

"You fell asleep on the couch in my office waiting for me to finish my work. I'm sorry I took so long, if I had known exactly how close to falling asleep you were I would have taken the work home with me."

"It's okay." Slowly pushing himself to a seated position he needed a moment to wake up, "I haven't slept for more than an hour since Saturday night so I'm just exhausted."

"I'm sorry." She leaned closer and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "We'll pick up take out on the way home so then you can eat and go straight to bed as you need all of the sleep that you can get as you have a lot of important meetings this week."

His hand slid across the front of her and took hold of her hand sliding his fingers between hers and holding it, "But if I go straight to bed then I will have ruined an entire evening and I'm only here for five evenings."

"You won't have ruined anything. You need to sleep and you need to keep your job, the fact that you are even here is plenty enough for me." Every word that she spoke was the truth. She had missed him since he had left, she would miss him when he was gone, even if he was asleep she was going to enjoy any and every second that she got to spend in his company.

"So even if I was to sleep for ninety five percent of this evening you wouldn't be mad? What if I said I wanted you to come to bed with me so that I could cuddle you?"

She raised his hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it, "I would be more upset if you didn't give me the option of coming to bed with you."

"Oooh. Home to eat and then bed for the both of us it is." Paul leaned closer to her kissing her lips as she studied his every movement.

The kiss took her a little by surprise, releasing his hand she moved closer to him and gave him a kiss and then rested her head on his shoulder as her hand held his other one, she just needed a quiet moment with him before they left.

"We're okay right? It's not a problem that I'm here this week is it?"

She pushed herself to sit back up so that she could look at him properly, "Why would it be a problem that you are here?"

He didn't know why he was worried that him being there was a problem as she seemed to be happy to see him but after her Dad catching him he did worry that she would have had second thoughts. "I guess we have kept things pretty quiet up until now and then your Dad caught us and it's just not so private any more."

"I think my Dad knew that something was going on already, I have actually been leaving at a decent hour. Let's go home and we can talk properly tomorrow after you have slept."

With a yawn he nodded his head and the two got up to get their things together to leave.

Hand in hand the two of them left her office but were stopped soon after by Vince, "I spoke to your Mother, she is eager for the two of you to come for dinner this week so I hope that you can make time for us."

Rolling her eyes Stephanie shook her head, "Goodnight Dad." She pulled on Paul's arm to lead him past her Dad with the plan of dealing with that tomorrow.

It was only when they were in the car did Paul speak again, "So will your Dad hate me now for what we just did?"

"Nah, once I tell him that we will go over for dinner he will forgive us, he's easy to please like that. Well you know this is if you want to go for dinner with them, even if you don't they won't be mad or hate you because I will just explain how busy you are."

He waited until they were stopped at some traffic lights before he leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Thank you. So what take out are we having?"

"I don't mind, you can pick."

Paul wasn't even sure how he was on his feet or how his eyes were still open but when she opened the front door and told him to go and relax he didn't argue and quickly collapsed on the couch. He didn't want to think about the calls and texts he left unanswered, he just wanted to eat, enjoy his girlfriend's company and then take her to bed.

After a surprisingly delicious few slices of pizza Paul was ready to just go to bed and just sleep. He gathered together the leftovers and his plate and made his way to the kitchen putting it all in its rightful place before he made his way back to the lounge and leaned against the door frame, "I'm going to head up now if you don't mind?"

"If I don't mind? Are you seriously asking permission to go to bed?" Her attention was no longer on the text that her brother had sent her but on her boyfriend.

"I don't know, it just felt like the right thing to say as I am a guest here." Sleep deprivation was beginning to mess with his head so the sooner he got to sleep the better.

"Well I don't mind you going to bed. I will be up in a minute, I just need to reply to my brother's text because apparently my Dad told him about us also. I swear if I wake up tomorrow and it is in the paper I will be having words with him."

The funny thing was that he actually did have a concern that her Dad would have done that now that she had actually said it but he hoped not. Pushing himself upright again he walked over to her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "If he has I will have words with him also. I haven't told my parents about us yet so I really don't want them finding out in the paper."

"Don't worry, I will get my brother on the case so that we can go to bed." It was after a brief pause where she went back over what she had said that she realised how it sounded, "I mean to sleep obviously."

"Okay. I will go up and get ready and then you can join me when you're done. Just incase I am asleep when you come up goodnight, I love you." He pressed another kiss to her lips before he left the room.

Stephanie sat there stunned for a minute, had he just admitted that he loved her? That hadn't said 'I love you' to each other like that since they had gotten back together and it was like he hadn't even noticed that he had said it as he had just walked off. She wanted to go to bed as soon as possible so she pushed the thoughts of what he had said to the back of mind and returned her attention to her text and put her brother on the mission to make sure that their Dad wasn't doing something stupid.

Once the text was sent she locked up and turned off lights before she made her way upstairs, she tried to be as quiet as possible just incase he was asleep.

Despite being exhausted and barely being able to keep his eyes open when Paul had stripped down to his boxers and slid into bed he didn't lay down to go to sleep, he sat propped up against the pillows and checked his emails to quickly glance at the plans for the week.

When she tiptoed through the bedroom door she was surprised to see him sat up with phone in hand, "Don't tell me your sister has told your parents and we both have some family shit to deal with tomorrow."

Closing the emails on his phone he locked the screen before he looked at the woman who had just entered the room, "My sister knows that I would kill her if she said anything. She's good though, if I confide something in her and tell her that I don't want anybody else to know she will keep quiet. So what did your brother want exactly? I know he now knows about us but was he giving you a hard time about it?"

"Nah." She began to slip out of her clothes as she spoke, "He texted me to inform me that Dad had told him about me having a boyfriend and how we are going over for dinner one day this week and had invited Shane and his wife also." Moving around the bed dressed only in her lingerie she bent down to pick up off the floor the shirt that he had been wearing that day and slipped it on, "My Dad is a nightmare. I'm sorry that your week has gone from work and staying in a hotel to spending your evenings with me and then to being forced into dinner with my parents and now it is my entire family."

He couldn't take his eyes away from her as she got undressed and then covered up with his shirt, he was enjoying having the opportunity to admire her body. "You do know this isn't being forced on me right? You won't have to drag me there kicking and screaming. Yes I would prefer to spend every single night alone with you but that's selfish."

"But it isn't. You haven't seen me at all for almost two weeks so you have every right to want to be alone with me." She finished doing up a couple of buttons on the shirt just so it stayed closed before she climbed into bed beside him, throwing one pillow onto the floor she fluffed the remaining pillow before she slid down in the bed and lay down.

Paul followed Stephanie's lead and threw a pillow onto the floor and slid down in the bed, reaching out he pulled his girlfriend so that she lay against him so that he could wrap his arms around her. "I do want to be alone with you but we have to do this so you get an easy life. Goodnight Steph."

"Goodnight Paul." Shifting a little against him to get comfortable she finally settled with her head on his chest and an arm across his waist, he was the most perfect pillow and she soon found herself drifting off to sleep.

The next morning they were both woken by the alarm, she didn't remember setting it so had no idea why it was beeping but she was grateful that it was. Quickly putting an end to the beeping she collapsed back into bed and smiled when Paul rolled over and rested his head on her chest,"Do you mind?"

"Not really." He knew that they had to get up but one good nights sleep was not enough to erase the exhaustion from not sleeping when his body thought that it was three am.

Her fingers found there way into his hair and she gently began to run them through it, "I have to get up soon."

"I know, I do too, I'm just sleepy still and you're so comfortable."

Five more minutes in bed wouldn't hurt her so she just lay there and relaxed whilst continuing to run her fingers through his hair. Eventually beginning to push himself up he quickly kissed her before he continued to push himself up until he was sitting up, "So I could probably do Thursday night for a meal with your family, that's probably the best day. I'm flat out today with meetings, tomorrow the meetings are all in the afternoon and one isn't until four but on Thursday I should probably finish the earliest so that there is enough time for me to freshen up. I was thinking that as long as you didn't mind eating late that I'd cook for you tonight, we could have a proper date night if you are up for it."

"A proper date night? And what exactly does one of those involve?" As she climbed out of bed she felt his eyes on her so she undid the buttons on his shirt and shrugged it off dropping it on the bed, "Better?"

Busted, she obviously knew that he was watching her every move and now he felt guilty for it, "I'm sorry Steph, I just . . . I don't know, I have no excuse for it but I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

She didn't know why he thought that he had made her uncomfortable, she also didn't know why she had taken the shirt off. "I'm not uncomfortable, I just thought that seeing as you like staring at me you would prefer this view."

"You do know that I can admire your body and find you sexy with clothes on right? Not that I'm complaining as you look amazing but you didn't need to undress to impress me." Now that he had that out of the way it was time to turn the focus to the date night, "A proper date night would involve me cooking for you and candle light."

"Perfect." Despite her state of undress she leant across the bed and kissed him softly, "I can't wait. Do you want me to pick anything up?"

"No it's okay thanks, I'll pick up supplies on my way home. Where do I find a towel please? I don't mind finding it myself, just tell me where to go." Climbing out of bed he had no more time to relax as he had things to do.

"They're in the cupboard near the bathroom, you can't miss it."

The two separated with Stephanie going into the en-suite and Paul going off in search of a towel.

After a shower and some breakfast the two of them both had to leave for work.

"Where is my phone?" As he searched through his bag Paul was desperately trying to find it and he wasn't able to.

"It's on charge. I got up at some ridiculous hour and noticed that your phone was running low so I put it on charge beside the bed for you. I'll go and get it if you want."

She needed to get to work as much as he did so he wasn't going to hold her up. "No, you're okay thank you, I'll get it." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then quickly ran up the stairs to retrieve his phone.

When he returned Stephanie had her hand on the doorknob ready to leave, "Are you leaving without saying goodbye?"

"Never. I was just going to see if your cab was here." Opening the door she looked out and spotted it at the end of the drive, "And it's here."

When she turned back around he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, "I promise tonight I will be better company as I will actually stay awake."

Breathing deeply she inhaled the scent of his cologne before she pulled back and leant up to press a kiss to his lips, "Have a good day and kick ass like I know you can."

"Thank you. Have a good day yourself and don't kick your Dad's ass like I know you want to."

She couldn't help but laugh, "You know me so well. I promise that I will be a good girl and won't kick his ass. We both need to leave though so I'll see you tonight."

"I'll text you what time I'll be home when I find out. Bye Steph."

With a final kiss the two of them parted for the day, Paul went to jump in his cab and Stephanie turned on the burglar alarm before she locked up the house and went to get in her car to leave.


	23. Chapter 23

When Paul climbed out of the cab he looked around for Chris but as he didn't see him he decided to text him so he didn't go in without him and they looked unprofessional. He was in the middle of writing the text when another cab pulled up and Chris stepped out, "I was just texting you."

"I'm not late am I?" He paid the driver and thanked them before he made his way over to Paul.

"You're not late, I guess I'm just a little early or something. I didn't want to go inside to see if you were here incase it looked unprofessional that we didn't come together so I was just texting you to see if you were here yet."

"Good thinking. I don't think it would look unprofessional but we can meet up outside at the start of each day if you want."

"Sure, sounds good." Paul just wanted to make the chances of them getting all of the jobs and word being spread that they were a good company so that he could move so much higher, being apart from Stephanie was just going to get harder. "So how was your evening?"

Opening the door Chris motioned him inside, "Sleepless. Time zones are the absolute worst."

"Thanks." Stepping inside he felt bad for his boss that he hadn't slept, "That's a reason why I had a nap before I went to catch the plane Sunday and then didn't sleep the entire flight here. It did slightly backfire as I couldn't keep my eyes open last night so ended up napping in Stephanie's office whilst she finished work and then ended up going straight to bed after dinner but at least I slept."

"I don't know whether to try that the next time I fly this way for meetings or not because knowing my luck it will backfire spectacularly."

Both men laughed as they approached the desk to state why they were here.

When Stephanie arrived at work the first thing she wanted to do was tackle her Father on telling her brother her business. When she saw that her Father's door was open she walked straight inside, "Why did you tell Shane? Who else have you told?"

"What?" Vince looked up from his paperwork at a loss as to what she was talking about as he had been focussed on the paperwork.

"Shane sent me a text last night, he said that you had told him that I have a boyfriend and that you had invited both he and Marissa over when we come for dinner this week. Why did you not let me tell Shane first? Why did you invite them aswell?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you would be this mad that I told him, jeez. Why not invite them? It has been a while since we have had a family dinner and your Mom thought that it would be nice. I will uninvite him if you feel so strongly about it."

"It isn't specifically about you inviting him. You have been so over the top since you found out about Paul that it is annoying." He was just her boyfriend, they weren't getting married, she wasn't expecting a baby, it was a perfectly normal everyday relationship.

He couldn't deny that he had been over the top but it was only because he was excited, ever since she had left College there had never been a steady boyfriend for them to meet. He had heard irregularly via his wife that she had been on a few dates but there was never anything more to it than that. Whoever this Paul really was to her and what their history was may be a mystery at the present time but it was clear that he had a lot of influence over his daughter so he needed to be given the once over by both of the other men in Stephanie's life. "You don't understand Stephanie. This is a huge deal for us as it has been who knows how long since you have had a boyfriend so whoever this guy is he must be pretty special so we just want to get to know him."

"He is special Dad, really special and I don't want to lose him again. I don't want any of you to make a big deal out of this and to scare him off."

"So he is going to come for dinner? I promise that we will be on our best behaviour, well we'll try to be. I can't promise that we won't ask hard questions as you're still our daughter/sister and we want to protect you."

That was probably the best that she could hope for so she would take it, "Okay fine. Thursday night we can come over, what time do you want us?"

Vince was surprised that she had agreed, he thought after her reaction to him telling Shane she was going to make them wait, "Great. How does seven sound?"

"That should be good. I've got to go to work but I'm sure you can't wait to tell Mom so I will leave you to it." Leaving her Dad to go to her office she had a bad feeling about Thursday but hopefully she was overreacting

Lynn couldn't help but smile as she saw her boss coming towards her, "Is Paul stressing you out already?"

"No, my Dad is. He is going so over the top ever since finding out about me and Paul. We're going for dinner on Thursday but I feel like this is a terrible idea."

"Surely it can't be that bad." She wanted to believe that her boss was overreacting but having see her Father she wasn't so sure that she was.

Stephanie wanted to be thinking the worst and for her Dad and brother to be completely trustworthy but she had her doubts, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I'm going to go and bury myself in work before I am drowning in my tears. If my Dad comes by I have moved to Alaska."

She could only laugh as Stephanie entered her office and shut the door, there was so much more to this than she could possibly imagine but she felt sorry for her brother.

They were late leaving their first appointment which left them just enough time to grab something from Subway and eat on the go. It wasn't ideal for Paul or Chris but when their week was as packed as it was so it was inevitable.

Both men were stood in line at Subway waiting for their orders but Paul couldn't get Stephanie off of his mind, "Would you mind grabbing my sub for me please? I just want to make a quick call."

"Sure. I'll grab a couple of waters at the same time so we stay hydrated."

"Thanks Chris."

A couple of minutes later and his boss was leaving the shop at just the right time as he was about to end the call and his stomach was rumbling. "Thank you for waiting for the sandwiches."

"It's okay, it seemed important."

"It wasn't life or death but it was important to me." He put his phone back in his pocket and took his water and sandwich from his boss, "I am so hungry that I could eat ten of these, it wouldn't be good for my figure though."

Chris laughed as the two men started walking to hail a cab to get closer to their next meeting before they actually ate.

Stephanie had been in a surprisingly cranky mood so Lynn had been grateful that she had locked herself away in her office for most of the day. She was now locked in a meeting so when some flowers arrived she thought they may have been for her as an apology but much to her disappointment they were for Stephanie so were probably from her brother.

The office door opened and the client walked out followed by Stephanie, "It was very nice to meet with you today. Wait, those flowers weren't there when I walked in were they?"

The appearance of the flowers was a mystery to her so she shrugged, "They're new to me so if my Secretary is playing games to mess with our heads I'll fire her."

Lynn laughed, "They were just delivered for you Steph, I swear I'm not trying to mess with anybody's head."

"Aww, somebody likes you. I've got to go but thank you for meeting with me and I will get back to you."

"You're welcome. Have a safe journey across town." The two shook hands before he left leaving Stephanie the opportunity to find out what the card said. Plucking the card from the middle of the flowers she removed it from the little envelope and began to read it:

 _Stephanie,_

 _Thank you for letting me stay with you this week. I can't wait for our date tonight._

 _Paul xxxxx_

She couldn't help but smile a little at the card, she couldn't wait for their date either, she was really looking forward to just spending a few romantic hours with him.

"Let me guess, they are from a tall blonde who is also my brother?"

With a coy smile she picked up the flowers and silently walked into her office, she wasn't saying anything.

The next few hours seemed to last for a lifetime for Stephanie but when she eventually arrived home she couldn't wait to put her flowers in water and to wait for Paul to arrive, she knew that he was going to be late but she wasn't sure how late.

Once the flowers were in water she began to walk around the house tidying up a little and making the house look a little more presentable than it had. She was grateful that he had been so tired that he hadn't noticed the mess as she didn't want him to think that she was a slob.

She was just finishing up in the lounge when there was a knock at the door. She practically skipped to the door and swung it open excited to see who was on the other side and she wasn't disappointed when she saw her boyfriend, "You should have called, I would have picked you up from the shops or done the shopping for you."

Stepping inside he pressed a kiss to her cheek as he passed, "Date night my way, you don't lift a finger."

Slowly shutting the door her brain tried to process what he said but it was only as she leant against it she realised what he had said and turned to march into the kitchen behind him, "What do you mean I don't lift a finger? That's not fair."

"How is it not fair? Don't you deserve to be treated well for one night? I guess if you have a lot of complaints about it I could stretch to letting you help get the dishes out that I need."

As he turned around to remove something from one of the high cupboards she wrapped her arms around him from behind and held him tightly, "Are you sure I can't persuade you to let me do more for you?"

There were so many different ways that he could take that question that it was hard for him to keep his mind clean, "I'm sure."

With a pout on her face she pulled away from him, she hated feeling like she was being lazy but if he was going to refuse to let her help she would just sit there and spend time with him and if he changed his mind then she was right there.

Paul discreetly watched her as she pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, she was so cute when she was being stubborn. Returning to making dinner he was determined to make it a good meal for her.

He prepared most of the meal in silence, it was only when he was starting to cook it so wasn't at risk of injuring himself with a sharp knife did he talk, "I see you got my flowers."

"I did, thank you." Despite what he had said he hadn't asked her to get one dish out for him but she had been enjoying sat there silently watching him work so she wasn't bored, "You didn't have to buy me flowers or anything at all, you bought me lunch yesterday."

"I know, I just thought it would be nice to surprise you with some flowers as I haven't done that for a while. If you didn't like it I won't do it again."

She couldn't stay in her seat then as she felt guilty for making him think that she didn't like it so she got up and moved closer to him being careful of the food that was cooking, "I did like it, it was hilarious as the person I was meeting with thought that Lynn was messing with his head."

Turning down the stove he stepped away to slip his arms around her waist and pull her close to him, "I wouldn't put that past my sister anyway."

"Be nice." She slapped his chest before she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm going to miss you when you go." It was in that moment where they were close and playful that it hit her that this wouldn't last forever.

"Don't think about me leaving, enjoy the time that we have here together and we will cross the whole leaving thing later in the week."

"Burying our heads in the sand won't help us or make it easier."

"We're not burying our head in the sand, we are choosing to focus on the here and now instead." He saw where she was coming from but he really didn't want to have to think about leaving, "Please Steph, just enjoy tonight."

His plea and the look on his face made it incredibly hard to even think about arguing with him, "Okay fine, you win."

"What did you say?" He heard exactly what she said but he he decided to play it up with some theatrics and widened his eyes in surprise.

As she looked at his face she knew that he had heard exactly what she had said and was now playing with her, "I said you win or are you going deaf in your old age?"

Wrapping his arms around her tighter he pulled her impossibly closer, "Maybe I am, we should test out my hearing by you screaming my name."

She had to shake her head at that as she pushed her way out of his arms, "You are so lucky that I like you."

"I like you too. In all seriousness, can you please get some plates out whilst I work on this?"

"Of course." She had to lean closer to kiss his cheek before she got things ready for him to dish up.

Twenty minutes later and they were sat across the table from each other with a candle lit inbetween them, "So what exactly did you cook?"

"It's some cod with like a herby crust, some pan roasted potatoes and some roasted tomatoes and asparagus. I really hope that you'll like it."

Her mouth had been watering ever since she had set her eyes on it so she didn't doubt that she would like it, "I am sure that I will. Thank you, it looks delicious."

The fact that she thought it looked good was a good start, "Thank you. Tuck in and taste it to see if it lives up to your expectations."

She didn't need to be asked twice, soon her knife and fork were in her hands and she was eagerly cutting in to the food. After one mouthful of food she knew that she was in heaven, "Oh my God this is so good, thank you."

"You're welcome. Cooking for one all of the time you learn to experiment before you go crazy eating the same thing over and over again. It helps that I have been able to use it to impress my girlfriend with."

For a moment she thought that he meant another girl but as she looked into his eyes and saw the sparkle there she realised that he meant her, "Well this girlfriend is impressed, I can't speak for others."

"Even if there were others their opinion would be irrelevant, yours is the only one that matters to me." The date night was so far going perfectly for Paul, it was like the six years apart hadn't even happened.

The two fell into a comfortable silence whilst they ate their food. Once they had both finished Paul stood up and began to gather their plates together, "I will put these in the dishwasher and then we can do whatever you want."

It was pointless arguing with him tonight so she just allowed him to take the plates into the kitchen whilst she snuffed out the candle and made her way to the lounge.

After putting the dishes in the dishwasher and stacking the dishes that needed to be hand washed by the sink he made his way back towards the dining room but when she wasn't there he decided to try the lounge next.

Stephanie heard her boyfriend coming towards her so she turned towards the door and her face lit up when she saw him, "Do you want to watch a movie? I don't mind what it is though."

"Sure, anything to spend a little time with you in my arms." After a couple of minutes of searching for a movie to watch Paul finally found something suitable and put it on before he joined Stephanie on the couch and wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled up to him, "So did you speak to your Dad?"

"I did." She watched as the commercials before the start screen of the DVD appeared on the screen, "He apologised. He basically said that he was just excited that I actually have a boyfriend and you must be pretty special and they just want to meet you. You will be proud of me for resisting the urge to tell them that we can't make dinner, we have to be there at seven on Thursday."

"Considering the mood you were in about it I am very proud of you." Pressing a kiss to the top of her head he picked up the remote to start the movie, "No more talking of your Dad tonight though, let's enjoy this movie and each other."

Turning in his arms on the couch she tucked her legs up beneath her before she leaned up to kiss him, "No arguments here." Settling back into his arms she lay her head on the chest and focussed on the movie on the television.


	24. Chapter 24

On Wednesday afternoon when Paul met up with Chris he was acting strangely but he tried to give him the benefit of the doubt as they entered the first meeting of the day. When that meeting ended and they stepped outside he was beginning to think that the different time zones were messing with his mind too much.

"So how soon is too soon for you to move out here?"

Looking at his boss oddly he shook his head, "Well I would have no problem staying out here from now on obviously but clearly I have an apartment to pack back there and would need to find new living accommodation over here first. Saying all of that though, you're kind of sounding crazy as you can't magic money, premises or equipment out of thin air."

"I do need to do my research to find out exactly what sort of time frame we would be looking at to make the move out here so it is a question that needed to be asked." Chris didn't want to let on to him that he had just signed the lease on a building that would be their new home, they would tell him when decisions were made back in California.

"Uh, I guess I would have to say one month then, or maybe sooner, I don't know. I would need time to be able to give my one month notice on my place and to pack it up as I will then need to be able to arrange to have all of my stuff shipped out here but I will probably have to live out of a hotel until I can find myself a place to live as I would want to see it first."

"That's good to know."

Paul took his phone out of his pocket and opened a text to Stephanie:

 _Chris is acting weird, I can't wait to be done today to come home to you as you're definitely not weird. I hope that your day is going well xxx_

After sending the text he slipped the phone back into his pocket, they had one more meeting and then he could go home.

It was only when he put his phone back in his pocket did he realise that Chris was on the phone himself.

"Okay, that's fine with us, we had no plans this evening so we can make it dinner instead."

Frustrated that he didn't even get a say Paul needed to vent to his girlfriend:

 _Well now I don't know what time I will be home. Apparently we are now having a dinner meeting, I'm sorry :( I'll make it up to you xxx_

Finally getting home Paul practically tiptoed through the front door, he was so glad that he had "borrowed" a spare key that he had found lying around. It was after eleven and he was exhausted, he just wanted to crawl in to bed, preferably with Stephanie in his arms, and go to sleep. He was exhausted after a long day and tomorrow they had dinner with her family where he was determined to make a good impression so he had to sleep and be on top form.

Stephanie had listened to what Paul had said about leaving the office at a reasonable hour taking work home with her so that is what she had done, despite knowing that he wouldn't have any idea either way as he was working all evening himself.

After dinner she had sat down on the couch with her laptop situated on her lap as she did some of the work. It was just after ten when her legs were uncomfortably warm and her eyes were really starting to burn so she moved the laptop to the coffee table and closed her eyes for a moment to take the burning away. The moment she was going to have her eyes closed for became a lot longer as she fell asleep.

Making his way through to the kitchen to get a drink of water Paul stopped when he saw a soft light coming from the lounge, shaking his head he was going to tell her off tomorrow for leaving her laptop on downstairs when she was in bed. He wasn't going to risk turning the machine off but he could save her work so she hopefully didn't lose it and close the lid for the night. As he walked around the couch he saw his girlfriend practically curled up on the couch fast asleep but he didn't have the heart to wake her.

Carefully saving her work he shut the lid of the laptop and then turned his attention back to his girlfriend, there was no way that she should remain there all night but he didn't want to wake her either, scooping her up in his arms he hoped not to disturb her as he carried her upstairs to put her to bed.

As he reached the bedroom he caught his elbow in the door frame and nearly dropped the woman in his arms but he fought through the pain and made it to the bed where he was able to lay her down only to see her bleary eyes looking up at him. Guiltily he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "I'm sorry for waking you, I should have put a light on but I didn't want to wake you but I guess failed anyway. Go back to sleep beautiful." He stroked her hair gently hoping to soothe her back to sleep as the last thing he wanted to do was to have woken her up for a while.

A soft murmur of enjoyment left her lips as he stroked her hair and a lazy sleepy smile crossed her face, "S'okay. Join me?"

"Always. I just need to get undressed and then I will join you." He stepped away from the bed and immediately began to strip down to his boxers being careful to make sure that his shoes were far out of the way so that neither of them tripped over them in the night.

As soon as he was undressed he slipped into bed and pulled a mostly asleep Stephanie into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of her head he then rested his cheek against it, "Goodnight beautiful."

The next morning Stephanie was panicking, "So you will definitely be home in time for us to get to my parents won't you?"

"Yes, I will be home in plenty of time." The urge to roll his eyes and groan had been strong as that was at least the third time that she had asked that question since they had woken up that morning. He finished off his toast and got up to put the plate away but stopped halfway to the sink, "Are you afraid that I'll make a bad impression?"

Snorting she swung around in her chair and shook her head, "No, it's not you that I'm afraid of, it's them. My Dad and brother are going to be so over the top protective it isn't even funny. Remind me why I agreed to this?"

"Because you want them to meet me so that when you fly across the country to see me they don't think you're being lazy and flying off on holiday?"

She hadn't even thought about what she would tell them when she flew out to see him but that wouldn't cover it anyway, she would have to tell them the truth even if she didn't want to as they wouldn't let her get away with things that easily. "You have met my Dad right? I can barely get away with sneezing and him not asking questions. If I told him that I was flying to California for the weekend I would get the third degree, and then some. I love my Dad but he is overprotective and so is my brother so if you want to reconsider tonight then I won't mind."

Paul knew that she was nervous about tonight but he didn't realise exactly how nervous she really was until this moment. "Can I just point out that I'm not nearly as nervous about this as you seem to be. Relax about it will you? They will either love me or they won't but I'm not going to stress about it, I have more than enough stress with Chris' peculiar behaviour. Just relax and be happy that you don't have to hide our relationship from your family and that they will get off your back about dating."

Why did he have to talk so much sense? Thoroughly frustrated she crossed her arms and pouted, "I hate you."

Walking over to her he placed his arms on the edge of the counter either side of her and slowly leaned closer to her, "I . . think . . you . . don't." He punctuated each word with a kiss and then rested his forehead on hers looking in to her eyes

She placed her hands on his cheeks and smiled, "You know me so well. I should finish this and get ready to leave."

"Yes you should." He kissed her again before he pulled away, "I don't have to leave until almost nine so I will get out of your way and allow you to finish getting ready in peace."

Reaching for his hand she held it gently, "You're not in my way. Stay around just to make sure I don't text my Dad and tell him tonight is off."

Playfully snatching her phone from the top he slipped it into his pocket, "Deal." He took a seat back beside her whilst she finished off her toast and then he tidied up whilst she got ready.

A morning of work was periodically interrupted by emails from her Dad which led to thoughts of Paul and how afraid she was of her family hating him but then her mind drifted to him saying 'I love you' the other night and how he had said nothing about it since. Fisting her hands in her hair she was so stressed she could easily rip it all out but she was interrupted by a voice at the door.

"Surely my brother isn't stressing you out this much."

It wasn't him but it kind of was him. A heavy sigh left her lips as she sat back in the chair, she had to stick up for him but she didn't know how to.

Lynn was concerned as she had only been joking so she shut the door and went and sat in front of the desk, "Tell me what he has done and I will fix it."

"He hasn't done anything, technically." She couldn't help but sigh again, "On Monday night he was exhausted and barely functioning but when we got back to mine we ate dinner and then he said that he was going up to bed and he said 'I love you'. We haven't said that to each other since we have gotten back together and he didn't even seem to know what he said or remember after that he had said it."

"Wow." She thought that he had been cracking too many bad jokes, she didn't think that it was something like that. "Have you tried asking him about it?"

"How? How do I say 'you told me that you love me but did you really mean it'? We have enough stress with dinner with my family and he is only here until Saturday so I really don't want to mess up what little time I have left with him."

"So you will just drive yourself crazy wondering if he really meant it huh?" The thought was there but it missed a lot of logic, "What will happen when he goes back home? Will you still not talk about it and drive yourself even crazier wondering about it?"

As much as Stephanie wanted to deny that she wasn't driving herself crazy she was as it was slowly eating away at her. "When is the right time to bring it up to him?"

"Definitely when your parents aren't around, the last thing you want to do is have that conversation around your parents because it would open a whole can of worms that would be a real mess to deal with and could cause more problems than the conversation would fix."

She couldn't help but make a face at the thought of her Dad hearing her have a conversation with her boyfriend about whether he meant it when he said that he loved her or not, "I'm pretty sure if my Dad heard that conversation he would have a heart attack, it would be too much for him to handle. I guess that I will find the time to have that talk before he goes home, it probably would be better face to face than it would be on the phone." It was only after she had finished speaking that she realised that she had no idea why she was there to begin with, "Why are you here anyway?"

Lynn stood back up ready to leave, "I came to see what you wanted for lunch."

"Oh, I'll have a ham sandwich please, I'm not feeling very exciting today."

"Sure. I'll be back in a bit." As she left the room Lynn contemplated giving her brother the heads up that Stephanie needed to talk to him but then she didn't want to interfere so she decided that that would be a stupid move as it might cause problems. She grabbed her purse from behind the desk and went to go and get some lunch.

When Paul met up with Chris for work he was relieved that he was acting a lot more normal than he had been the day before, he wasn't entirely sure that he could handle another day where he was acting strangely, or as strange as that anyway.

Waving his hand in front of the younger man's face Chris nudged him gently in the shoulder, "Anybody in there?"

Brought out of his thoughts he forced a smile, "Maybe?"

"Uh oh. What's wrong?"

"If I said 'nothing' would you believe me?" They were currently sat opposite each other in Starbucks as Chris wanted to meet up before they actually went for the meeting to go over some sketches.

"If I said 'sure' would you believe me? Seriously though Paul, you don't seem yourself this morning."

He wasn't himself, he knew that he wasn't himself because he was worried about Stephanie. Ever since she had completely freaked out this morning over him meeting her parents he was concerned, he hadn't been before but he was now that she seemed to be extremely concerned about it. "I'm meeting Steph's family tonight, she is completely freaked out by it and it's beginning to rub off on me."

"I remember those days." He needed the younger man to get his head back into work as they really did need to get as many contracts as possible, "My wife completely freaked out about me meeting her parents but it wasn't like there was anything we could do about it. You can't make somebody like you, if they're going to like you they are going to like you but the same goes for if they aren't going to like you. You do have an advantage though, her Dad has already met you and kind of knows you so he has probably told his wife about you so you'll be in with a better shot of things going well."

"There is her brother too and Steph keeps going on about how overprotective they are. She hasn't had a boyfriend since we broke up in College so they have been on at her about dating so now I'm just starting to wonder if maybe they will be extra hard because they want the best for her." It felt good getting that off his chest to somebody impartial who didn't really know anything about the situation.

"And you are the best. I don't know Stephanie more than the one time that I have met her on Monday but I don't need to be her best friend to know that she is happy, to know that **you** make her happy. Speaking as a Father of two daughters all I want for them, when they grow up and are old enough to have boyfriends anyway, is for them to be happy and for the guy that they are with to make them happy and to have their best interests at heart. As long as you show her family that you care about her and only want her to be happy then I think you'll find that they will love you."

"Wow, you are really good at pep talks. Thank you, I really needed to hear that. So where were we with these sketches? I don't think we have long until the meeting."


	25. Chapter 25

Paul was late; he should be home by now as they had to leave in less than forty five minutes, "Come on Paul, where the hell are you?"

He knew that he was a lot later than he said he would be but he wasn't expecting to open the front door and to see Stephanie stood on the other side waiting for him. "I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry that I'm so late but the meeting overran by a long way. I'm here now though and just need to change and I'm ready to go." As he passed his girlfriend he quickly kissed her before he climbed the stairs to get ready.

Once he was changed he made his way back down the stairs and went off in search of his girlfriend eventually finding her in the kitchen, "Don't tell me you're turning to drink already."

"Don't tempt me today. I am stressed out enough as it is and then you end up being hours later than you said you would be as you said that you would be home before I was."

Wrapping his arms around her waist he rested his chin on her shoulder, "I'm sorry Steph, I didn't mean to make you think I was skipping out on the meal or anything. I genuinely was caught up in a meeting; the person could talk for the entire world and didn't know how to answer anything in less than a ten minute monologue. If you don't believe me feel free to ask Chris but I can promise you that I am never ever going to meet with him again unless I get a pay rise first."

Her eyes slipped closed as she leant back into his arms allowing his touch to relax her. "You promise me that you didn't have any second thoughts? Or maybe third or fourth thoughts?"

"I promise that I haven't had anything but positive thoughts about this evening, one of us has to. We can do this, you just have to believe and relax you know because if you don't your brother will probably tease you mercilessly."

He made such a good point; her brother would get great pleasure out of teasing her so she had to figure this out. She turned around in his arms and placed her hands on his shoulders, "Please tell me one more time that this is the right thing to do."

"This is the right thing to do. Step one we tell your family, step two we tell my family on my next visit, well my parents."

Did he just say he wanted them to tell his parents too? "Let's survive tonight and then I can think about telling your parents because I am sure that they will be a lot saner about it than my family."

He couldn't help but laugh at the way she was so confident that his parents would take it easier on them than her family, she was probably right though. "Okay, I can agree to this so let's get going or whatever."

Stephanie made sure that the house was locked up before they left to go to her parents, she was sure that her brother would already be there so that he could maximise the time he had to interrogate them both.

Stood outside her parent's front door she was clutching his hand tightly, she was right that her brother would already be here and she was terrified, he had to like Paul and he couldn't scare him away.

The circulation to his fingers was slowly being cut off as she gripped his hand like a vice. Raising their hands to his mouth he pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand, "Maybe release the grip a little bit please, I don't want to lose the use of my hand."

Quickly releasing her grip on his hand she blushed furiously, "Sorry."

Sliding his fingers back through hers just as the door opened he wasn't going to start this evening with her feeling guilty, "Don't be."

When the doorbell had rung Linda insisted on getting it as she did not trust her husband not to tease their daughter. As she opened the door she noticed the way her daughter's face lit up and she was certain that she was not the cause of it. "Good evening you two, it's so nice of you to join us."

Reluctantly releasing her boyfriend's hand she stepped forward and hugged her Mom tightly, "Thank you for inviting us. Mom I would like you to meet my boyfriend Paul, Paul this is my Mom Linda."

Paul swallowed down the anxiety that had suddenly hit him and reached his hand out to shake the older woman's hand, "It's very nice to meet you Mrs McMahon." He noticed the way his girlfriend quickly grabbed hold of his hand again once he had shaken her Mom's hand.

"Linda, please call me Linda. It's very nice to meet you though, I would say I have heard a lot about you but that would be a lie as I only knew you existed on Monday."

"Mom!"

"What? It is true isn't it? Do come in though, I know Shane is excited to meet you."

As they walked through the front door Stephanie couldn't help but shake her head muttering, "Kill me now."

Tugging sharply on his girlfriend's arm he pulled her into his side and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Play nice, I know you don't mean that."

"But I do, I really do." She couldn't help but lean in to him as he pulled her close, "Can't we just hide out or something?"

"No hiding, we need to do this." He pressed a kiss to her forehead knowing that she wasn't going to argue, she would actually lead him to wherever her family was going to be.

Observing the couple silently from the side Linda could tell from the subtle touches and the way that his daughter reacted to him that she likes him a lot. She would personally do harm to her husband or her son if they tried to ruin this for her.

Sadly they couldn't hide or stay in the foyer forever so she reluctantly led Paul towards the lounge, "Of course the two of you are in here and the women are left to cook the dinner and answer the door as you're too lazy to get off your fat asses."

Shane jumped out of his seat and ran over to hug his sister, "Girl please, my wife isn't even here yet. Why have you been avoiding us?"

"I haven't been avoiding you, it's called working, you should try it sometime."

"Please, I work harder than you do."

Paul couldn't help but snigger at the siblings fighting, "Are the two of you normally like this?"

Having stood up to greet his daughter and her boyfriend Vince shook the young man's hand, "Yes they are. They will act like grown-ups soon. It's good to see you again though Paul."

"What?! You know him Dad?" No longer interested in teasing his sister he cared more about finding out why he was so far out of the loop.

"It's nice to meet you Paul; apparently I am the last person in the family to do so." He reached to shake the other man's hand whilst giving him the once over, he looked tidy but he still had questions.

Not hesitating to shake his girlfriend's brother's hand he didn't know how to take him though, "It's nice to meet you too. Will your wife be joining us?"

"She will be, she got stuck in a meeting but is on her way." Just as he said that the doorbell rang, "And that is probably her. I will just go and see."

Whilst her brother went to answer the door Stephanie led her boyfriend over to the small couch and took a seat, "If Shane causes trouble I'm disowning him."

"You don't mean that." He took a seat beside her and rubbed her arm, "He is your brother, your annoyingly overprotective older brother but still your brother and you still love him."

Okay so she didn't really want to disown her brother but he was getting on her last nerve already. Her parents were talking between themselves so she rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the silence.

Marissa walked into the living room and immediately noticed the way that Stephanie was with Paul. "So did you miss me too Steph?"

It had been so long since she had seen the other woman that Stephanie jumped out of her seat and ran over to hug her sister-in-law, "Oh my God, somebody sane has arrived. I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too Stephie, you'll always be my little sister only I'm the cool older sibling that is relaxed about everything."

"Can you put your husband on a leash then please?" She pulled away from a hug and gave her her best puppy dog eyes.

She got the distinct impression that her daughter was too scared about being around her boyfriend, her Dad and brother so Linda was going to take her out of the situation. "Girls, why don't you help me in the kitchen? Vince hasn't exactly been helpful."

The idea of leaving her boyfriend alone with the other two men in her life terrified her but as she glanced over at Paul he only smiled reassuringly like he could actually read her mind. "Okay, I guess I can help out. Play nice boys or you won't like me."

"I don't anyway." The sharp smack he received to his arm from his wife was a shock to the system, "Ow, that was mean."

"You haven't seen mean yet. Play nice or the couch has your name on it." Leaving her husband to lick his wounds Marissa walked over to the other man in the room, "I'm Marissa, it is very nice to meet you. If my husband misbehaves in any way feel free to tell me, he isn't quite house trained yet."

Paul couldn't help but hug the other woman as he laughed at her comment, "Don't worry, I think I can handle it. It's nice to meet you though, I'm Paul."

"You're the reason Steph has been so much happier recently. I look forward to getting to know you and finding out what is so special about you."

"Why wait, I'll let you in on the secret now, nothing. My main priority is Steph's health and happiness so I'm not anything special."

"Of course you would say that." Shane rolled his eyes; his sister's boyfriend was apparently a suck up.

Stephanie practically skipped over to her boyfriend knowing that her brother was annoyed by it all, "You are the sweetest, thank you." She pressed a kiss to his cheek, "I'll be in the kitchen if they cause you any problems." When she turned around she pointed accusingly at her Dad and brother, "Be nice or you will both be sleeping on the couch tonight." She didn't give them a chance to answer; she just looped her arm through Marissa's and dragged her out of the room.

He waited until the women left before Paul took a seat, "I am guessing that the two of you want to grill me so go ahead before our better halves come back and tell you off."

Although they were impressed with the other man's words as they sat down both Shane and Vince were intrigued by how open he was being.

"How did you meet Stephanie?"

"College, she was my best friend for a couple of years before we got together. We were only together for a couple of months before I received the offer for the internship at my current job."

He was learning a lot more about the young man and his daughter's relationship and exactly how long it had been going on for, he just didn't understand why he hadn't learned about him before now. "So if you were together since College why have we only just heard about you and why did she irregularly go on dates?"

"Because we split up before I left and only got back together very recently. I didn't want to put her through the pain of such a long distance relationship when I knew that she had a job and I didn't know if or when I would return back to the east coast to live."

"But you still work for the same company and they don't have an office over here so what exactly has changed?"

Fuck, he didn't think before he spoke then, now he had to get out of this or swear them to secrecy.

Naturally suspicious already as he was his sister's boyfriend the silence that followed his Dad's question made him doubt him completely. "You're not worthy of being her boyfriend, you're stringing her along and I will not stand for it."

"I'm not!" No wonder Stephanie was so worried, her brother was savage. "I can't really say anything as I haven't actually said anything to Steph yet as it may not happen and I don't want to get her hopes up if it won't happen any time soon."

"And then you tell us in English and not gibberish."

"My one boss is from the east coast, his parents are getting older so he wants to move back to be closer to them so they are looking at the potential of opening an office on this side of the country. I have already said that if it happens I want to move too."

Vince and Shane exchanged glances, this man in front of them was incredibly committed to Stephanie for only being together a short period of time.

"I don't get it. You have been together again all of five minutes and you want to move to be closer to her?"

"You really are suspicious of me aren't you?" If he could magic his suspicions away he would but there was only so much that he could tell them when there was a lot he hadn't told Stephanie and she should hear those things first.

His wife had told him that he should be gentle and not scare away the first guy that Stephanie had been with that they had met but when he didn't trust him Shane couldn't be gentle. "I'm not going to lie, I don't like or trust you and I am not supportive of your relationship with my sister."

"Okay hold up there Shane." Vince did not think that he would be the one having to be reasonable but maybe it was because he had met Paul a couple of times that he was more relaxed about it but his son was like a dog with a bone and if he wasn't careful he would scare the other man off and then he would be the one everybody was mad at and he would be in the dog house. "You have literally just met Paul and are suspicious about everything, maybe you should talk to your sister too and then decide if he is good enough for her or not."

Grateful to Vince for sticking up for him he gave him a small smile, "I promise you both that I'm treating Steph right, I have enough people, including my sister who works for her that would be after me if I didn't."

"Tell me more." Shane was intrigued by how many people were watching out for his sister so if he could pump information from this guy he was going to.

With great relief the focus was off of his actual relationship with Steph and had moved on to how many people were looking out for Steph but he was okay with that because it gave him room to breathe and with any luck it might be another way to get in the good books of Shane.


	26. Chapter 26

Although she left the room Stephanie hesitated outside, the last thing she wanted to do was to leave Paul alone with her brother and Father but she had to trust them and know that they wouldn't do anything to upset her.

Marissa felt bad for Stephanie, it was clear that she was terrified that things would go badly leaving Paul alone in the room with Vince and Shane but she actually had faith and believed that they wouldn't go over the top, she also knew that if they did then they both had a wife to deal with and they wouldn't like that outcome. "Come on Steph, leave the boys alone to be boys and to talk so that they can feel Paul out and you can come and tell me and your Mom all of the girly things about him."

She didn't want to; the last place she wanted to be was away from Paul.

When she didn't willingly move her sister-in-law took that as her cue to yank on Stephanie's arm and physically pull her in to the kitchen and shut the door behind them. "Why are you so against leaving them alone together?"

"Because I know my Dad and my brother, I know that they will give him the third degree and the Spanish Inquisition and I really like him and I don't want to lose him because they're acting like it is the Stone Ages and I need protecting from the evil man. If that happens the only evil men around will be them."

Marissa and Linda exchanged a look, it was pretty clear to them that although they only just knew of this guy's existence he had a special place in her heart. "You love him huh?"

No she didn't love him, did she? She knew that she always had love for him but recently she had convinced herself that she loved him as a friend, that it was nothing more than that at this stage of their relationship. After his revelation on Monday and as the week progressed and she stressed more about the fact that he had said it it now had her wondering if she had been stressing about it because she loved him and she wanted him to love her too.

Both of the other women turned to do something to help with dinner whilst Stephanie had her little moment in her head. They had tried to talk to her but she had completely ignored them so they just thought that they would leave her be.

Finally coming back to reality she moved over to the sink and began to wash off some vegetables that were lying there, "He told me that he loved me. He said it when he was absolutely exhausted so that doesn't really count."

"You have said something to him about that right?" When she didn't answer Marissa shook her head, "Girl are you crazy? You clearly love him and he has already said it to you, even if he was so tired that he didn't realise that he was actually saying it, so why don't you just say 'I love you' and get it over with and be happy?"

"What if he didn't really mean it when he said that to me when he was exhausted? What if it was a reflex thing so if I then go and say 'I love you' and he doesn't feel it yet as we haven't been together long so then it would be awkward? I barely see him as it is; I don't want to ruin what little time I have left with him by saying that and not knowing if he feels it."

This was a conversation for a Mother so Marissa stepped aside and let Linda deal with it.

"But if he does feel it and like you he thinks that it is too soon to actually say it? The two of you would both be miserable because you hadn't been honest about your feelings and just one of you plucking up the courage to say the words would fix it all." Walking over to her daughter she put her hands on her shoulders, "Saying 'I love you' for the first time can be the scariest but most exhilarating feeling, it is like jumping out of a plane without the actual danger part. The result of saying it and knowing that there is somebody out there who feels the way that you do is better than any other feeling out there."

Everybody was telling her to talk to him and be honest about her feelings and she had promised that she would talk to him so maybe if tonight went well then it would be a good time to talk to him about her feelings, "Maybe."

Marissa shook her head, "Everything that your Mom just said is true. I remember the very first time that your brother and I said 'I love you' to each other, I was walking on air for a week. Do it in your time though, don't let anybody tell you what you should do and when you should do it, just don't let him leave without sorting out the confusion over what he said though, you will regret it."

The more people spoke the more she was getting confused so going from the sink to the table she poured herself a glass of wine and downed it quickly. "I can do this tonight and then I can talk to Paul, one step at a time."

Despite the way she had downed the drink both women had no doubts that with a little bit of help from them tonight then she would navigate it safely so that she could move on and be happy.

Once dinner was well on the way to being cooked Linda shooed the younger women out of the way so that she could finish it and so that they could make sure that all of the men were in one piece still.

Stephanie walked in to the lounge and couldn't help but smile as she saw her boyfriend sat exactly where she had left him but he was relaxed back and the three men were holding a conversation. "Hey."

"Hey you." Paul resisted the natural instinct to reach out to her and simply altered the way that he was sat to accommodate her beside him.

Not caring if her Father and brother said anything or not as she sat down she pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Were they good?"

"You do know that if I were to say no I would probably be in their bad books right? I have to say that they were good and then you have to decide if I am being honest or if I'm not."

"I will kill them both." She wasn't actually sure if he was telling the truth or not, she just figured that the chance of them being good was a lot smaller percentage than that of them being bad.

"Hey! I would like to point out right now that I was actually good." The last thing Shane wanted was to be sleeping on the couch because his sister thought the worst of him.

Marissa would be the first person to admit when her husband wasn't on his best behaviour and had potentially stepped over the mark but judging by the look on his face this was not one of those times. "I think for once they have been good Stephanie, I don't think that you need to be mad at them."

"Shame, I like putting Shane in the doghouse."

Everybody but Shane laughed at that, he was getting himself in trouble with his wife easy enough; he didn't need to be in trouble with his sister also. "I can't win; I will always be in the dog house with somebody."

Vince couldn't help but tease his son at that statement, "Well that does come as a result of you not being able to keep out of trouble."

"Oh come on! Not you as well. I thought us men were supposed to stick together."

Before they could enlist him Paul sat back in the chair and put his hands up, "I'm not getting involved."

"You're so whipped, both of you are." Although he acted like he was offended Shane wasn't at all, he had actually played it up a little to see if he would be drawn in to it.

Whilst they waited for dinner Stephanie cuddled in to Paul's side, she had been so stressed out about tonight that now that it was a relaxed atmosphere she made the most of it and just relaxed as close to him as possible.

When dinner was called everybody made their way through to the dining room where the food had been laid out on the table.

Not knowing that her family conducted dinner Paul just allowed Stephanie to lead him over to a seat, "Are you sure that we shouldn't see if your Mom needs any help?"

"Definitely not. Marissa and I learned long ago that once you are dismissed from helping with dinner you do not go back into the kitchen unless your presence is requested or you actually need something from the kitchen. My Mom has a very specific way of dishing up dinner and she doesn't like it being interfered with and she doesn't like us 'under her feet', as she kept telling us when we tried to help anyway."

Sitting down across the table from Stephanie and Paul both Shane and Marissa nodded their heads, "Trust me she is right, you do not want to mess with the kitchen when my Mom is cooking."

"Like you would know anything about attempting to help when I am cooking Shane." Linda placed the last dish on the table before she took a seat, "I do hope that you will enjoy this Paul, it was a very last minute meal planning and normally it would be something much more put together."

As he looked at all of the food across the table he couldn't help but shake his head, this wasn't put together? It seemed pretty put together to him. "This is great thank you Mrs McMahon, I really don't want or need a fancy meal, I would be happy with sausages and potatoes, and if you added cheese to it then I would be in heaven. I am a simple guy and I much prefer the company to the food, no offense because I am sure this is lovely, it most certainly looks it."

"Please call me Linda; I really don't like being called Mrs McMahon as it is so official. I have never been one to go with simple but when you come back next time I will see what I can do about making that for you."

Shane couldn't help but be offended, "Why can he get something he likes at these meals and I can't?"

The last thing Vince was going to allow was a fight to break out so he was fast to intervene, "Because Paul is a guest and we make guests welcome in this house. You on the other hand have had your favourite meal a thousand times and I'm sure that your wife makes it for you so stop causing drama by whining."

The last thing that Paul wanted to do was to cause family drama when he was trying to make a good impression. "You really don't need to go to any trouble for me Mrs . . . Linda, I will happily eat whatever is on offer, I really don't want to cause any trouble within the family or for people to think that I am being favoured at all."

Reaching beneath the table Stephanie reached for her boyfriend's hand and held it gently, he was so sweet and special and she was lucky to have him.

"Don't worry Paul, we aren't about to start any family drama, I am just having a little bit of fun seeing if I can draw my sister in to a little back and forth argument. Apparently you have too much of a calming effect on my sister though as she isn't even biting."

He looked over at his girlfriend and smiled, she was either so nervous that she wasn't paying attention to her brother or she was so relaxed that she didn't even care what her brother was saying. Without thinking he lifted their joined hands above the table and pressed a kiss to the back of it before he placed their hands back on his leg.

Although he had been unsure of how the relationship between his daughter and Paul would work before he got to know the couple, seeing the two of them sat there together in front of him he wasn't so sure any more. It was clear that his daughter felt a lot for the man and it was even clearer how much he felt for her and really that was all that he could ask for.

The six of them all began to dish up their own dinners and enjoyed a good conversation as they ate. Once they had finished eating Paul insisted on helping to clean the dishes away before everybody sat down with a coffee before they left.

Cuddled on the couch beside her boyfriend Stephanie was tired but just being with him and around her family made her happy.

"So how long do you have left on this visit before you go home?"

Where was home? More and more he found himself thinking of anywhere she was as home, his apartment back on the west coast was just somewhere he lived, it wasn't where his heart was. "I leave on Saturday and will be back in work on Monday. It isn't something that I am thinking of too much right now though; I have enough on my plate with my boss acting strangely so I am just taking it one hour at a time."

If she had her way he wouldn't leave at all but she had to stop herself from actually saying that as it wouldn't be helpful, she didn't want to make him feel guilty for doing his job. Slipping her fingers through his as his hand lay draped around her shoulder she looked up at him and smiled softly, she was so lucky to have this time with him that she had to focus on it and cherish it and she was trying so hard to do that. "We should get going. I have an early morning tomorrow and Paul has a full day so we need to get some sleep."

"Of course you do. It was lovely to meet you Paul and maybe next time that you are around for a few days we can have dinner again."

His instinct was to say yes but his girlfriend had freaked out so much he hesitated to actually say yes incase she didn't like the idea. "I will let Stephanie liaise with you on that one."

Shane couldn't help but smirk, he knew his sister and he knew that this man was whipped because that was a diplomatic 'I would like to but I don't know if I am allowed to'. He opened his mouth to tease his sister about it but a sharp smack to the leg had his attention diverted to his wife who only gave him a warning glare, sometimes it didn't pay to be married to somebody who knows you so well.

Standing up Paul picked up their mugs and returned them to the kitchen before he returned to the lounge, "I have placed the mugs beside the sink, I don't know if you put them in the dishwasher or wash them by hand. Thank you for tonight though, dinner was lovely and I had a wonderful time."

"It was truly our pleasure Paul." When Linda pulled the younger man in for a hug she took the opportunity to whisper something to him that she knew that her daughter would not want to hear, "Thank you for making Stephanie happy again."

A slight blush stained his cheeks as he pulled away, "I did nothing."

"You did far more than you even realise. You're a good man, she is very lucky."

"Now that I disagree on, I am the lucky one here."

She felt like she had missed half of a conversation as she hugged her Dad, "I don't know what the two of you are talking about but I don't like the sound of it. Come on Paul, we have to go."

"And we will leave in a moment, I think your brother will spontaneously combust if you don't give him a hug."

"Not quite what he said but come here, you owe me a hug."

After hugs, kisses and promises from Stephanie that she would call her Mom once Paul left the two of them were walking back to the car hand in hand.

Swinging their hands back and forth gently he wondered if she was even paying him any attention as he had been speaking to her. When they reached the car he released her hand and took the keys from his pocket unlocking the car, "Feel free to climb in or you can stay here if my company bores you so much."

"Huh?"

"You have been ignoring me; I thought that you were bored of my company tonight."

So caught up in her thoughts of how the evening had gone and how now that was out of the way she had to talk to him about him saying 'I love you' to her she really hadn't noticed that he was talking to her, "I'm sorry, I was on another planet."

"Clearly, I hope that it was nice there."

If she didn't know better she would sense a little hurt in his voice and that was the last thing that she wanted to do, "I'm sorry." It required a little stretching to kiss him but she was quickly on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips not caring if her family was watching, "I'm sorry, I really am. Come on and let's go home, it has been a long day."

He waited until she was in the car before he walked around the other side and climbed in, "How did you think it went."

"Good. My family seemed to love you, even Shane, which is odd for him as you're my boyfriend and generally he prefers to hate any men I come in contact with because he feels like it is his duty to do so."

Laughing as he started the engine she said that like it was a bad thing, "So it's a bad thing that your brother made an exception for me?"

"No it's not; it is the best thing ever. If I have my way you will be around forever so knowing that he likes you now and you don't have to actually work to make him like you is just perfect. How did you think it went? Do you like them?"

Clearly it was a trick question, she wanted to know if they had given him the third degree and although they had been kind of hard to begin with they seemed to warm to him. "I think it went well too but to be honest I am not overly concerned by their opinion of me, I only need your opinion of me as you are the one that I want to impress on a daily basis."

Stephanie couldn't help but smile as he pulled out of her parent's drive; she was beyond impressed by him. "If I told you that I am very impressed by you would you get a big head?"

"Never." They stopped at a cross section so he quickly looked over at her, "I just want you to be happy okay? If you need your family to love me I will make sure that I continue to hopefully make a good impression on them and if you need me to do something to be a better boyfriend just tell me and I will do that too."

"You are a perfect boyfriend, I love you as you are and you don't need to change." The second that she finished talking she realised her error, she didn't mean for those words to slip out right now, hopefully he was so focussed on the drive home that he didn't notice.

Hold up, did she just say that she loved him? Surely not, maybe he was just hearing things? There was only one way that he was going to find out the answer to his questions, asking her.


	27. Chapter 27

Paul had been staring at Stephanie for so long that the lights had turned to green again and he didn't notice, that was until the cars behind began to honk their car horns which soon got him to focus on the road in front of him and drive off.

The rest of the drive home was done in silence as she internally panicked about having messed everything up between them. When they returned home she couldn't get out of the car and in to the house fast enough, she didn't even wait for him to lock the car before she was opening the front door and hurrying inside.

What had he said or done to make her run away from him like that? Had she wanted him to respond immediately when she indicated that she loved him? Women were so confusing.

Making sure that the car door was locked he followed his girlfriend inside to see if he could get to the bottom of exactly what was bothering her. Once inside he shut the front door and went off in search of her finally finding her stood in front of the kettle in the kitchen, "I thought you were going to lock me out."

"Why would I do that?" She turned around to look at him and leant back against the counter chewing on her lip nervously, there was a good chance that this was going to go terribly wrong and that was the last thing on earth she wanted to happen.

She looked shifty but he wasn't sure if she was nervous about how he would react to what she had said or if she regretted the words that she had said. He didn't care if she was regretting what she had said because he cared deeply for her anyway so he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her away from the counter and in to his chest.

Her hands came to brace herself against his chest as she crashed in to it, "What did I say?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe saying that you loved something about me. Would I be miles off if I was to say that I think that you might actually love me?"

It was time to face facts and not ruin the time that she had left with him and after spending the rest of the journey thinking about what she had said and what she felt she was now confident in what she felt. "No you wouldn't be but we kind of need to talk about something before I say the words and potentially make a fool of myself."

"Why would saying those words involve you potentially making a fool of yourself?" He didn't want to believe that it was anything but nerves that was ruling her thought process right now.

She wanted to put some distance between them as she spoke so she went to pull out of his arms and walk away but he didn't release his grip, "Paul, let me go please?"

He wanted to but there was an ominous feeling in the air and he didn't want to let her go and let her literally walk out of his life. "I would let you go but you're scaring me so can we just get this over with please?"

She had scared him? That was the last thing that she wanted to do so leaning up on her tip toes she pressed a kiss to his lips, "Don't be afraid, it isn't bad and I'm not going to dump you, I just need to tell/ask you something before I say those words so I don't ruin the time that we have left together."

If they weren't going to split up then he could allow her freedom so he released his grip on her and stepped back, "I am all ears."

"On Monday night when you were so exhausted that you fell asleep in my office we came back here and we had pizza and then you put the dishes in the kitchen before you came to say goodnight to me and went to bed and I stayed downstairs for a minute to finish texting my brother."

He remembered that, vaguely but he remembered it. What could she possibly have to ask him relating to that which would have a bearing on whether she was comfortable telling him the truth about her feelings? "Okay I definitely have a vague recollection of those events. What did I do that was so bad?"

"It wasn't bad. You walked over to me and pressed a kiss to the top of my head before saying 'I love you' and leaving the room. Did you mean it when you said those words or was it some weird automatic thing or something?"

It definitely wasn't just done on automatic, it was said because he felt it but he just didn't know how to say that to her. Reaching for her hand he held it loosely, "It was a subconscious thing Steph. The truth is that I have felt it for a while and I wanted to tell you but I just didn't know how without messing things up between us. The truth is that Stephanie McMahon I love you, I have loved you for a long time and I think that you are a very special person."

Paul loved her, he really loved her. "I love you too Paul. I didn't really realise that I loved you until you said it and then people were telling me to talk to you about it and it caused me to really think about my feelings and I realised that the reason I was so hesitant to talk to you about it and why I was so afraid of losing you is because I love you."

Stepping forward he dropped her hand and wrapped his arms around her again, "So we love each other huh? Do we get to seal it with a kiss or something?"

"Dork." Her arms wrapped around his neck as their faces moved closer together until he pressed his lips against hers and she melted right in to the kiss and his body.

Finally pulling away from the kiss he couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend, "Who cares if your family hate me, you love me and that is all that matters."

"Unfortunately for you I can say that the women officially like you, I can't say the same for my brother and Father yet but I should find out when you go home as my Mom will tell me when we inevitably do lunch this week."

He was halfway there with the women liking him and the men certainly did seem to like him, well to his face anyway but what they said behind his back was another matter. "Shall we go to bed? We both have an early day tomorrow and I wouldn't say no to snuggling for a little bit before we go to sleep."

"Sounds good to me. I was only making myself a coffee anyway so let's go." She took his hand and led him towards the stairs.

When she walked in to work on Friday morning the first words out of Lynn's mouth weren't 'hello' or 'how are you', the first thing she said was, "How did it go?"

"Which part?"

Immediately her ears pricked up and she sat up in her seat, "There is more than one part? Spill."

"What are you doing here so early? I have work that I need to get started on so I don't have time to stand around gossiping with you."

"Okay fine you can work and talk and I will just listen, you just said yourself that I am early." Lynn stood up and walk around her desk, "Come on, let's go."

"I'm not getting a say in this am I?" She recognised the tone of voice from one her own sister-in-law had used on her many times before and that was the tone of voice where she didn't win no matter what she said or how she argued with her.

"No say at all." Gently nudging her boss she needed her to hurry up before she actually had to go to work.

Once the door was shut and she had collapsed into her seat Stephanie looked over at Lynn, "So what did you want to know?"

"What happened? Did they like him? Please tell me he didn't make a fool of himself."

How could she think that they wouldn't like him? She surely knew her own brother. "I know for certain that my sister and Mom like him, he said that my brother and Dad liked him but I'll know for certain if they did or not when I speak to or have lunch with my Mom."

"Sister? What did I miss?" It was either really early and she had forgotten a member of the family or she was deliberately trying to confuse her for pushing for details.

"Yes sister, my brother's wife I call my sister as he has been with her since I was a kid as they were childhood sweethearts so she has always been in my life."

Relieved that she hadn't missed anybody she breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew, you had me thinking that my brain had suddenly stopped working this early in the morning. So have you like decided when you are going to talk to him about that thing that he said?"

She had decided when she would talk to him but then that plan had gotten thrown out of the window when she just blurted out that she loved him.

"Stephanie?" The awkward silence between them since she had asked the question was uncomfortable so she had to break it. She wouldn't have asked about it if she hadn't said anything to her about it before so it really wasn't her fault.

"We talked last night, I kind of blurted out that I loved him on the way home from my parents. It really wasn't my fault that it came out though, it was all on him."

"It was all on your mind so your mouth just let the words out there so that you could chill out. Leave the poor guy out and don't blame him for the fact that you just had to tell him how you feel about him. For the record this is the only time I will ever stick up for my brother so don't get used to it."

She couldn't help but laugh at her, she had to admit that even before she knew that Paul was her brother she had never heard Lynn say anything good about her brother. "I am sure that he would be very pleased to hear that you stuck up for him one time. It worked out for the best though, after I admitted that I loved him I tried to avoid the conversation but he forced it and he admitted that he loved me too."

She knew it, Lynn knew that her brother was in love, she could see it in his eyes every time he looked at her he had a spark and she couldn't ask for any more than for him to be happy and for his girlfriend to be somebody she liked and could actually get on with.

"Okay okay, enough gossiping, I actually have work to do and so do you so kindly get out of my office and go to work please."

"Consider me gone." She turned and made her way towards the door before Stephanie's father found out that she was technically slacking.

So caught up in her work Stephanie didn't even look at the clock or pay attention to any of the noises that happened outside of her office but she had to pause what she was doing when there was a knock at the door, "Yes?"

Slowly the door was pushed open and a delivery man stood in front of her, "Stephanie McMahon? There is nobody at the desk out here and this is where I was told that I could find you."

"Uh huh, that's me. I'm not expecting any deliveries though." She stood up and walked around the desk to take whatever the parcel was from him.

Handing over the small box he held out his electronic pad, "If you could please just sign to say that you received it then that would be great thanks."

Quickly putting the box down on the desk behind her she took the pad from his hand and scribbled her name she smiled politely and thanked him before he left allowing her to open the box. Returning to her seat she placed the box on her lap, it was light, quite thin but quite long also and she had no idea what was in it. Eventually managing to figure out how to open the box she pulled off the lid and gasped, there was a single red rose with a card.

She put the lid of the box on the desk and removed the card to read it:

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _I know you received flowers from me earlier this week but this is just one rose for one purpose, to tell you that I love you._

 _Paul xxx_

As she read the card she couldn't help but smile, he was spoiling her this week and the thought of being away from him now for however long was beginning to weigh on her mind and her heart. She had to shake those thoughts from her mind for now so placed the card back in the box before she placed the entire thing on the lid on her desk and retrieved her phone from beneath a pile of papers that throughout the morning she had dumped on top of it, she needed to say thank you right now.

 _I love you :-* You really didn't need to send me the rose but thank you, it's gorgeous._

Setting her phone back down on the desk she needed to go back to her work, despite having achieved a lot already there was still so much for her to get done before the weekend.

She hadn't been working long when her phone beeped but she had no problem in abandoning the work for her phone.

 _I love you too beautiful :-* I know I didn't HAVE to but I wanted to & what I wanted won. I know tonight is our last night together but I saw a flyer for a fair across town & wondered if u r interested?_

It had been a very long time since she had gone to a fair so it would be fun and a perfect last night with him as they had already done a couple of date nights and tonight would just be about fun.

 _That sounds like fun, I would like that a lot if you are up for it._

As she placed her phone on her desk Lynn appeared in her doorway and it was the perfect opportunity to tease her, "I understand that you abandoned your post as my unofficial doorwoman. Where did you go? I hope it was important otherwise it may be the last trip you make whilst employed here."

"What?! I wasn't gone that long." She had only gone to use the bathroom; she hadn't been gone more than ten minutes as she had been cornered by somebody from Pay Roll on her way back as they had questions about the time sheet that she had put in.

The sheer panic on her face was too much for her to keep up the pretence of being angry as she started to laugh at her, "Gotcha. Whilst you were gone there was a delivery but I just thought that I would tease you."

"Ugh, I hate how happy my brother makes you. I would much rather that you are miserable please. Okay not really miserable but this cheery shit is getting old really quickly as you have this whole teenage crush shit about you. What was the delivery? Do I need to put something away?"

"The delivery was a rose from your brother." Most people would have been offended by her little statement but she had known Lynn for a long time and she knew that she didn't actually mean it.

"Of course it was from my brother, he is a sucker for making people happy and he loves you so obviously he wants you to be happy. Although all of this sounds bad you know that I am happy that you two are together and that you're happy right? It is a really weird adjustment for you to be happy and to be going home at a reasonable hour and I am trying to get used to it but after so long of you being miserable and overworking yourself it is just odd."

"I know and I understand. Despite everything your brother is amazing, I just wish that he wasn't going back to California tomorrow, I wish that he could stay here with me because I may end up miserable all over again because I will miss him."

She wanted so badly to tell her that he may be moving back here, the words were on the tip of her tongue and may fall out if she wasn't careful so she had to get out of there quickly, "I need to get back to work, my boss can be a real meanie sometimes."

Stephanie laughed as Lynn scurried out of the office and shut the door behind her, something wasn't right but she had no idea if it was something that she had said or not. She didn't want to dwell on that so propped the rose up on the corner of her desk and returned to her work.


	28. Chapter 28

Paul and Stephanie had an enjoyable evening at the fair and filled themselves up on junk food that they bought there.

When they arrived home Stephanie collapsed on to the couch glancing over at him as he stood by the doorway, "Are you coming in or leaving?"

"I was going to go and pack but I could come in if you would prefer that."

She would prefer that, she really would, anything that delayed the inevitability of knowing that he had to leave to go home and feeling empty and alone.

The distraught look on her face made the decision for him; he was joining her on the couch. This quite possibly had been the worst decision he could have made for them by staying here all week because now they had to part and neither of them wanted to apparently.

Carefully flopping in to the seat beside her he pulled her into his arms, "I want to leave as much as you apparently want me to leave but we can do this. Maybe in about two or three weeks you can fly out or we could meet somewhere in the middle?"

Sighing heavily as she shifted on the couch cuddling close to him and burying her face in his chest, she didn't know when she would have time to travel as she would have to look at her diary so she couldn't commit to that and that just made her even more depressed.

He was beginning to think that every time he opened his mouth he was putting his foot in it, she seemed to be getting sadder and not happier. "You know that we will make this work right? Whether you fly to me, we meet half way, I find time to fly here or we just conduct our relationship over the phone and Face Time it won't change how much I love you."

Nothing would change how much she loved him either but spending a significant amount of time apart was bound to put a strain on their relationship and that was what she was afraid of. "It won't change how much I love you either but it doesn't mean that it won't be hard being apart. There is no substitute for being held in your arms so no matter how we feel it won't make it easier on a bad day."

"Do you want to change your mind and back out of this? I won't be mad if you do." He didn't want her to back out and for them to split up but he wanted her to be happy and right now she wasn't.

Stephanie's initial reaction was 'no way', she didn't want to split up with him but it was only fair to give herself a minute to think it over however after that minute she still came to the same conclusion. Swinging her leg across his lap she moved to sit comfortably on his thighs and rested her hands on his chest, "I'm crazy about you, why would I split up with you when we haven't properly tried it yet? It is going to suck, I am going to miss you a lot and wish many times that you didn't live and work in California but somehow we will make this work."

He wished that he could tell her that it wouldn't be forever but they hadn't had a conversation about long term plans so maybe she didn't see them long term or maybe she didn't want to have to think long term? He wasn't sure which one it was but he was grateful there not being a discussion so that he didn't feel like shit for actually lying to her and not just lying by omission. "Are you going to come to the airport with me or not? I don't mind if you don't but I would feel guilty if I didn't at least give you the option to come."

She hadn't thought about whether she would go with him or not and she didn't want to think about that now either. "I don't know, I will decide tomorrow." Shuffling a little closer she rested her head on his shoulder, "Even if I don't come with you please don't leave without saying goodbye."

"Never, I could never do that to you or to myself." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and held her closely, this was his new favourite cuddle as her body had moulded to his and they felt like one.

The next morning Paul didn't want to move, well technically he couldn't move as she was holding him so tightly that it was near impossible to because it was like he was in a vice.

"You can't go, I won't let you."

His attention was drawn to his girlfriend's mumblings thinking she was waking up and was trying to get him to stay but her eyes were still closed and she didn't seem awake so it had to be a dream.

"Don't leave; I'll be better next time."

"What the hell?" He didn't want to wake her but judging by her grip on him tightening she was getting more distressed and he didn't want that when he was leaving so he gently shook her shoulder, "Steph, wake up."

"Huh?" Her eyes fluttered as she tried to adjust to the light in the room.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead he was relieved when she woke up and seemed more relaxed, "You were having a bad dream I assume."

It didn't take much for the dream to come flooding back to her, "It was kind of a silly dream in the grand scheme of life but you were leaving and you said that you were never coming back and you never wanted to see or hear from me again."

"You know that that isn't true right?"

"Yes, maybe, sure." Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she sighed heavily, she did know that it was true in her heart but her dream had freaked her out as it had been so lifelike, "Give me a few minutes and I will be sure of it, I just need to wake up properly and shake the dream off."

The fact that she needed to shake the dream didn't make him feel great, pulling her closer he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "I hope that you can shake it."

Her head fell against his chest and she sighed softly because she hoped that she could shake it too, "You and me both." She pressed a kiss to his chest and relaxed in his arms for the last time this trip.

A few hours later and she had accompanied him to the airport and was waiting as he checked in. God this was so bad, she didn't want him to leave her and she was cursing every single person that had told her that she would feel better for telling him how she felt; she really wasn't, if anything she was feeling worse for it knowing that her boyfriend loved her and was now leaving.

Paul had checked in and was now on his way back to his girlfriend, she looked awful and he knew that there was nothing that he could say to make her feel better. When he reached her he slipped his hand in to hers and gently pulled her with him to the gate that he was departing from, when they reached it he noticed Chris sat down on the phone so he pulled his girlfriend over to the window away from everybody, "We are going to do this okay? We are going to make it work and nobody can split us up."

"How do you know?"

"Because I do, because I love you and I am going to keep fighting for this, for us. I have lost you once and you'd better be damn sure that I am not going to lose you again." It was going to be tough for the next few months whilst things hopefully got put in place for a move back to the East Coast for him but he was going to have to find time to juggle it all otherwise the move would be a waste of time.

Stephanie wrapped her arms around his neck, his passion for their relationship made her body tingle; nobody had ever made her feel like she was so important before. "Maybe we could think about taking a ski trip? It's up to you but it might give us some much deserved time away from everything, it will be a lot of fun and we won't have to worry about anything."

A trip away with his girlfriend sounded heavenly but there was only one potential snag and he couldn't talk about it with her. "I will have to see what time off is available but you can be certain that I will be doing that almost as soon as I get back to work."

She closed the small gap between them and kissed him softly, "Thank you."

The two fell in to a comfortable silence, now that they had made actual plans she was more relaxed and he was also happier because it felt like they could actually survive this as they were making plans together and plans weren't made to be broken.

When his flight was call the last thing that either of them wanted was to separate but having plans made the separation a little easier.

"I will call you when I get home so that you know that I am safe."

"You had better or we will be having words."

Consider him told. He rested his forehead on hers and placed his hands on her cheeks, "I know what is good for me and that is definitely calling you, I also know that I will want to hear your voice so it is win/win for me. Have a safe drive home, I love you."

"Have a safe flight. I love you too."

The two shared a soft lingering kiss before he picked up his bag and walked towards the gate glancing back at her every few steps until he passed through the gate and could no longer see her.

Stood at the window she watched his airplane leave wiping at the few stray tears that fell down her cheeks as it took off leaving her all alone again until whenever they could find time to meet up. Only when his plane was out of sight did she leave the window and make her way out of the airport to go home, so that she could wallow in her own misery.

When he sat down next to Chris on the plane he hoped that he didn't want to talk business as he didn't want to, he kind of just wanted to be left alone for a few hours.

"What's on your mind?" Chris wasn't stupid; he had seen the two of them together at the airport and now seeing Paul sat beside him looking utterly miserable was unnerving because he needed him to be on top form when they got back to work.

"Nothing."

"Sure, I am also next President of the United States so I'm not buying that."

"Well if Donald Trump can be President I am sure that you can be also. It just sucks leaving Steph behind because we did the whole admitting that we loved each other thing and now it just makes me sad to leave her because she doesn't know if or when she will be able to come out to see me."

He was itching to tell him that he would be moving soon but he couldn't, not until he spoke to his partners and they all signed off on things and came to the agreement. "It will get easier, you will surprise yourself how different you will feel once you throw yourself back in to work."

"Oh yeah, throwing myself in to my work is going to make me feel soooo much better when I go home to an empty apartment." He quickly realised that he was taking his sour mood out on his boss and that was an idiotic mood, "I'll shut up now. I'm sorry for being cranky; I will cheer up by Monday I promise."

"It's okay, don't worry about it, just don't tell anybody else that I said that."

A silence fell over the two as Paul tried not to take his bad mood out on anybody for the rest of the flight home.

Come Monday morning the last place that Paul wanted to be was work because his head felt like it was about to explode. He had spent most of the day on Sunday working on designs so he found himself a little wiped out come Monday morning.

Walking in to the office he knocked on Chris' office door and got no response so let himself in and dropped the small pile of designs on his desk before he left to go to his own desk and to begin going through his emails as he undoubtedly had a number of tweaks to make to the designs he sent off before he went on the business trip.

He was making good progress on his emails when Lucas appeared at his desk, "Can we see you in Marvin's office please?"

Biting back the groan that threatened to spill out he silently stood up and followed him to Marvin's office where he was confronted by all three bosses, this was not going to be good for certain. He took a seat and waited to find out what was wrong.

"I have had an email from accounting; there is a discrepancy in the hotel bill. Do either of you care to explain why it is roughly half of what it should be?"

Saving money was a bad thing now? Maybe he was too grumpy and taking it the wrong way but either way he was owning up to it, "I didn't stay in the hotel, I stayed with my girlfriend for the week because I thought it would save money and I would get to spend time with her. Is that a problem? Chris knew and he arranged with the hotel and they said they wouldn't charge for the room."

"They didn't charge for the room. Why didn't you say something before and we wouldn't have booked the room at all?"

"Because I didn't know that it would be possible to stay with her, it was kind of a last minute thing just so that we could spend time together. Am I in trouble for it?"

Lucas couldn't help but laugh, "You think that you are going to be in trouble because you saved us a few hundred dollars? You are not in any sort of trouble at all but we needed to discuss it with you both at the same time to make sure that you both gave the same story."

"Okay good, I kind of like this job a lot." Which was true, he did enjoy his job even though he was separated from his girlfriend by an entire country.

"And we like having you working here; you have come a long way since you joined as an intern. That is all for now though, you can go back to work now."

He smiled politely at his bosses before he got up and left the room, that was officially the strangest meeting that he had had with them because it felt like he was on trial. When he sat back down at his desk he looked at his emails intending to finish reading them but the talk of Stephanie made him miss her smile so he decided to text her:

 _The one bad thing about being on the other side of the country is missing your pretty smile. I love you baby xxx_

Paul had left the room and Chris had shut the door firmly behind him, "Have you had a chance to look at the lease and the photographs yet? I was thinking that it might be good experience for Paul to come with me to set it all up. All of the clients loved him, you can clearly see that his heart is on the east coast and if you think about it it makes perfect sense as you both wanted him trained up anyway so what better experience than setting up an entirely new office?"

"Are you crazy? He has barely graduated from being an intern in the grand scheme of the business and you expect me to have faith in him actually setting up an office? I think not." Marvin was quick to shoot that idea down because they needed this office to work so that it wasn't a waste of money.

Lucas actually found himself disagreeing with his business partner, "You know that I normally agree with you on business decisions but on this I surprisingly don't. Take a minute to think about what he has done for the business since the very first time he went to New York, think about the work that he has brought in, the positive feedback thaat you have received from people who have met with him. Just think about the image that will be portrayed if you send out a senior partner and an incredibly junior member of staff, it will show that we have faith in all levels of our staff and that we believe in our staff."

"I am not going to get in the middle of this discussion because I know what way I fall and what my opinion is and I want you to both agree and I will go along with that decision."

"I think that we have made a decision. We need to talk to everybody to let them know what is going on so we'll order pizza and donuts for lunch and talk to everybody in the break room."

The word had gone around the office that the bosses were buying lunch and instantly the conspiracy theories had begun about what it was about but Paul refused to be drawn in to the speculation, he was more interested in texting Stephanie as she sent him texts through the morning when she was free.

Lunchtime arrived and it was almost a fight to see who could get to the break room first to see what was on offer, the word soon went around that it was pizza and donuts and the break room was full.

Paul was sat in the corner of the room with a slice of pizza and a donut on a plate balanced on his knees with a bottle of water at his feet as sent a text with his free hand. He was so caught up in his phone that he didn't know that Chris, Marvin and Lucas had entered the room until the room went silent. Slowly looking up from his phone he had a bad feeling about the meeting as it felt like they were being bribed with lunch. Resting his phone on his lap he picked up his pizza as he was starving.

"As you are all aware we have made a few trips to New York recently and we have managed to pick up some work there, what you aren't aware of is that we have just signed the lease on a building to make our new office."

There were gasps of shock and murmurings all around Paul of people wondering what that meant for them with some saying they couldn't and wouldn't move but Paul knew almost all of that already so he barely paid attention to what was going on. Sure, the news of them signing a lease was new to him but if it had any relevance to him then he would have already known about it so they were probably just going to talk about the work that they had there so he was just going to enjoy his pizza and donut whilst he waited for a reply from Stephanie.

Chris waited for the murmurings to die down before he took over from Lucas. "I want to move back to the east coast because my parents are getting older and they need my help and support a little more these days. There will be a limited number of spaces available for people to apply to transfer to the east coast when we open up over there but I will need a right hand person to help me set up operations over there and we have decided that that particular job will go to Paul Levesque."

Suddenly every single set of eyes in the room was on him and it made Paul nervous, he really should have paid more attention apparently as he had missed something big, he wanted to ask why everybody was staring at him but then it would show that he hadn't been listening to a word that had been said. It was only when he heard 'I can't believe they are taking him to set up the new office' mumbled nearby that it all started to make sense, he was moving back home.


	29. Chapter 29

Paul tried to stay out of the conversation for the rest of the meeting to avoid it being obvious that he hadn't been listening to what was being said. By the time the meeting was over and they were granted the chance to eat their lunch he had already finished his so he stood up and threw his trash in the bin and made his way back to his desk to continue catching up on his work.

As he erased an error he had made on a sketch he was doing by hand he noticed two feet walking towards him and judging by how expensive the shoes looked it was one of the bosses. He continued working on the sketch until the feet were beside his desk and the person cleared their throat, "How can I help?"

"Can we talk in my office please?"

"Sure." Standing up he followed Chris to his office and took a seat, he was understandably about to get his head bitten off for not listening in the meeting.

Once the door was shut Chris took a seat behind his desk, "I am aware that you weren't listening to us in the meeting."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just assumed you were telling everybody about the work you got on the east coast and I already knew about it so decided to just eat my lunch and then get back to work early but that all kind of backfired on me when you said my name." His thought process was that if he apologised and explained himself he wouldn't take him off the move.

"It's fine, the look on your face when you found out because you weren't paying attention was amazing." That was genuinely the truth as well; it was the only thing that had been spoken about amongst the three of them when they had dismissed the meeting. "The reason that I have brought you in here though is to speak with you more about the move. How long do you think it will be before you are able to make the move?"

That was a hard question; it was like asking how long a piece of string was. "Uh . . . I don't know. I haven't packed up my apartment or given my notice, I haven't looked in to shipping my stuff across the country or how I might store it once it gets there, I haven't looked in to the best hotel to stay in nor have I begun to gather listings for apartments."

"You know that all of that stuff I can help you with right? Or most of it anyway. I can pass the information across that my wife gathered on shipping companies, I can ask my parents about storage facilities in the area and you can ask your sister or parents and you could look apartments up on the internet. You should make a list of things to do, my wife has and she is finding it a great help."

It was all well and good for him as he had his wife to help him out; Paul had to do it by himself. He didn't want to have to involve his sister but it looked like he was going to have to. "If you could ask your wife and parents about that stuff that would be great please, I'll ask my sister and parents too so hopefully if all three come up with the same company and have had good things about them my stuff should be safe. I want to keep my sister out of it as much as possible as my girlfriend does not know that I am even potentially moving back and I want to keep it quiet as long as possible."

Why he wanted to keep it quiet when she could help him out boggled Chris' mind so much that he had to say something. "Why don't you tell your girlfriend?"

"Because I will feel really awkward about it if she offers financial help. Yes I have money and can probably afford it all myself but I don't want either of us to be put in the position where she feels like she needs to offer me some. Call it stubborn male pride, call it wanting to protect the relationship, call it whatever you want but I would rather surprise her once I have moved with 'ta da, I'm here' than 'fuck, I am broke'."

Surprisingly he actually understood where he was coming from; new love is a delicate love so it was understandable that he would be hesitant to include her if he was afraid of money issues. "If you have any money issues let me know okay? I understand that this will be expensive so if we can help out we will. If you could actually figure out as soon as possible when you can make the move and let me know that would be great please. I should be moving in about two weeks. We will be staying with my parents for a few weeks whilst we get our house set up so I am just waiting for my wife to make the final arrangements and to book the flights, before you say anything it is just so much easier when you are married to let the wife be in control, it saves so many headaches."

Laughing Paul shook his head, he was almost glad that he wasn't married and he only had to deal with himself. "On the way home from work I will pick up some boxes and I'll speak to my landlord and see what he has to say and I will get back to you."

"That is great, thank you. I should let you go back to work but if you could keep me updated on how things are going then I would appreciate it."

"I will do, I promise." Paul stood up preparing to leave the room but stopped briefly, "Thank you for doing this for me and allowing me to transfer with you, I really do appreciate it."

"It is our pleasure Paul. We have been discussing training you up for a while before all of this so it is your time to shine and show us what you can do."

"Thank you, I promise that I won't let you down." As he left the office he immediately searched his pockets for his phone, thankfully he found it before he had to go back in there and ask if he had left his phone behind like an unreliable idiot. Before he could think about focussing on work he had to rope his sister in to some detective work for him:

 _Mention this to Steph & I disown u. I am moving home ASAP, I need u to find storage places for my things please. If u want to find cheap hotels I won't say no._

Ignoring the looks of disdain from his colleagues he sat down to get back to his work.

When his phone buzzed on the desk he picked it up to find out if his sister was complaining about helping him out to know if he would have to ask his parents to help but that was the last thing he wanted to do.

 _Why exactly is it is a secret? Between mine & Mom & Dad's you might not need to pay for that depending on how much you have. I'll do research & get back to you._

 _Thanks sis, you're the best. As for Steph, I want to surprise her._

It was kind of a lie that he wanted to surprise her but he really didn't want to get in to it with his sister. Placing his phone back on the desk but out of his way he got back to sketching, sometimes the old fashioned sketching made him the happiest. 

* * *

After a long day at work he went straight to the store to try and get hold of some boxes. It took multiple stores but he had managed to beg, borrow and steal what he hoped would be enough boxes for the move. They weren't going to miss them as they were being thrown out anyway as they were empty so he wasn't actually doing anything illegal when he took the boxes from out the back of stores when nobody was watching.

Struggling up the stairs to his apartment with a pile of boxes he couldn't clearly see where he was going, so much so that he bumped in to somebody with the boxes, "Whoever you are, wherever you are, I'm sorry for that, I shouldn't have carried so many boxes."

"It's fine. Why do you need so many boxes anyway?"

Well that was one less phone call he was going to have to make as apparently he had just walked in to his landlord. "I was going to call you when I got home."

"Considering I am here right now why don't I take some of those boxes from you and you can talk to me to my face."

Reluctantly passing over some of the boxes so that his line of sight was clear he was dreading this conversation.

The short walk to his apartment was done in silence, as soon as he had opened the door he stepped inside and dropped the boxes on the floor and then turned to take the boxes from his landlord. "Why are you here? Were you here to see me?"

"No no, well kind of. I had to visit another tenant as they had a problem with the lock on their door so I swung by to let you know I was going out of town next week and my brother was going to handle the properties for me so if you had any problems you would speak to him and not me and he was fully authorised by me to deal with it all. So why were you going to call me?"

"Uh, well I have been offered a transfer with my job, one that will take me back home to the east coast and I wondered how much notice you needed for me moving out and if I could move out before that time and leave the property empty and not incur any costs?" Part of him desperately wanted him to say that he could leave at any moment and he wouldn't charge him extra as long as the apartment was clean and tidy, the other part of him needed time to psyche himself up for this move as he would be in the same place as his girlfriend and that terrified but excited him.

The landlord silently scrolled through his phone, "Ah ha! I found it. I have actually had a friend approach me to find out if I have any properties available as their child is being evicted due to a rent rise that they can't pay so I may be able to rent this again immediately I think. As a result of this then you can probably leave whenever you like, you'll need to give me a date but beyond that I don't mind. I think there is almost three weeks left on your rent for this month so if you'll be here longer than that I'll get my brother to break down the costs by the day and I'll let you pay by the day assuming it will only be a few extra days."

"Why are you being so good about this?" Any time somebody was this good and this understanding he was suspicious and in his mind he had every right to be suspicious of this right now.

"Do you realise how many times you have called me out for 'problems' in this apartment since you moved in three or four years ago?"

That was a very good question actually and truthfully he had no idea, "No idea."

"Exactly. You call me out that infrequently that you actually don't know, you call me only when there are serious problems that impact on your living here, some tenants call me out for the smallest thing and almost every week so as you have been good to me I am going to be good to you. Good luck with the move, I hope that it is everything that you want it to be."

"I hope so. I will get to be closer to my family and my girlfriend so I can't complain about that at all. I will keep you updated on when I plan to leave but I should imagine that it will be in about two weeks as that is when my boss is moving." He didn't want to think about everything he had to do before he could move, he just needed to focus on one thing at a time or his brain would explode.

After seeing his landlord out he first needed to get dinner and then make a start on packing.

* * *

Stephanie left work in plenty of time so that she would be home in time for Paul's call. After having dinner she sat down on the couch with her laptop as she had a proposal to write up for her Dad, she didn't know how he would react because sometimes he was receptive to ideas and sometimes he wasn't but at least she will have tried.

So wrapped up in writing the proposal she didn't even pause for a drink or a snack, she worked until she couldn't work no more as her eyes were stinging and she was beginning to see two of the screen. Making sure that the proposal was saved so that she could hopefully finish it tomorrow she placed the laptop beside her and stretched her legs out. It was only when she stood up to get some life back in to her legs that she noticed that it was pitch black outside, it had been getting dark when she sat down so she had the light on already and didn't notice immediately but she must have been working for a while as the neighbours across the street had turned their porch light off.

Grabbing her phone from the couch she was surprised to see the time read 23:43, Paul never rang this late as it was already nearly nine in the evening for him and he knew that she needed to sleep as she always was up quite early. It was almost like he had forgotten about her but she would give him the benefit of the doubt tonight however she didn't have time to talk to him now so just sent him a text.

 _I'm going to bed now. Sleep well and I'll talk to you tomorrow? Love you xxx_

Gathering everything together she headed for the stairs to crawl in to bed and get some decent sleep.

It was midnight by the time that Paul was going to bed, he had spent the evening looking at the shipping and storage companies that Chris had emailed to him and trying to make a list of exactly what he would need to keep out of storage and what he would need to put in storage.

Plugging his phone in to charge he noticed that he had a text so quickly checking who it was from he immediately felt guilty about forgetting to call her, he had been so wrapped up in thinking about this move that he completely ignored his girlfriend. He would have to call her in the morning now to make up for it so leaving the text unanswered he climbed in to bed to go to sleep.

The next morning when she walked in to work she noticed Lynn sat at her desk and when she saw her she opened her mouth to say something but Stephanie wasn't in the mood to listen to her so just put her hand up to silence her and walked in to her office shutting the door firmly behind her. Last night he had forgotten to call her, when she woke up this morning he hadn't even answered her text, when he actually did get in contact he had better have a damn good reason for ignoring her otherwise he was going to be in the dog house.

Why wouldn't that noise stop? Slamming his fist on the alarm it still didn't stop so reluctantly he open one eye to see what it was and saw his phone dancing on the top, "What?!" Whoever was calling him this early had better be involved in an emergency.

"Paul, I tried getting hold of you last night but you didn't answer your phone. Are you okay?"

Reluctantly pushing himself to sit up he glanced over at the clock and saw that it read 6:45am, he was supposed to get fifteen minutes more sleep but his Mom had other ideas. "I'm sorry, I was so busy that I didn't even pay attention to my phone and I didn't even see your missed call. What's up?"

"I spoke to Lynn, she mentioned something about storage but I didn't really understand what she was going on about as she was incredibly vague. What do you need storing?"

So not telling his parents yet probably hadn't been his best idea seeing as it could have afforded him an extra fifteen minutes sleep if he had just told them but he had no time to worry about that. "The firm are opening up a new office on the east coast, I am coming over to help setting it up so I need to store all of the stuff from my apartment, you know furniture etc."

She couldn't have been happier than to hear the news that he was finally coming home, she had missed him so much whilst he had been living in California. "When are you planning to move?"

"Oh you know, in the next couple of weeks." He waited for the inevitable explosion as his Mom completely freaked out on him.

"What?! How long have you known about this move and why have you left the organising to the last minute?" There was no way that he could possibly do everything in a couple of weeks.

As he suspected his Mom freaked out on him, he was glad that she was as predictable as ever still. "Officially I have known for less than a day, I have known that it was possible for a couple of weeks."

The wheels starting turning in Patricia's mind as she thought about him moving in a couple of weeks and how little time he actually had. "Well you know that the garage is empty so I am sure that we can store a lot of your things here, if not all of it. Where are you going to live when you move back?"

"A hotel. There is no way that I can pick an apartment without actually seeing it so for a while I'll have to live out of a hotel until I find a suitable apartment but hopefully if I do enough research before I move it won't take too long to find one."

"You are certainly very busy. If there is anything that I can do to help then do let me know but don't worry about storage, just leave it all here and save yourself some money."

"Thanks Mom. I'd better go as I need to get ready for work but I'll talk to you at some point, I don't know when but if I don't keep you updated on things then Lynn most definitely will. Love you Mom."

"Love you too Paul, take care and don't overwork yourself."

That was not possible in the slightest but he promised that he wouldn't before they ended the call and he dived out of bed to go and shower.

Between working, packing and organising things Paul was certain that he wasn't going to be sleeping a whole lot as he just didn't have the time for it. The end result was going to be perfect, it was just the lead up to that which wasn't and was going to end up making him lose his mind if he wasn't careful.


	30. Chapter 30

It had been a week since Paul had told her that he was moving back home and Lynn had spent the weekend trying to help find the cheapest hotel and seeing what deals she could get for him.

She was hurrying through reception to get up to her desk quickly as she was cutting it close to be there on time when suddenly the head of security appeared in front of her seemingly out of nowhere, "Since when did you become a Ninja?"

"Since you apparently don't notice when people wave at you. Have you got a moment please?"

"As long as you can be my alibi if Stephanie gets mad and thinks that I slacked off and didn't come in on time."

"Yeah, about Stephanie." Gently gripping her arm he steered her over to the side out of the way of all of the people coming in, "Is everything okay with her?"

"Uh . . . yes? As far as I know everything is okay. Why are you asking?" She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach now, Paul hadn't said anything to her the many times they had spoken but that didn't mean that something hadn't gone down between the two of them.

"She has been working some really strange hours these past few days." Pulling the papers from his back pocket he uncurled them before passing them to her for her to look at herself. "If you take a look at when her security pass was used to come in and out since Thursday it has been strange hours. She arrived at seven on Thursday morning but didn't then leave until almost two in the morning, she was then back just before eight and left at one on Friday but then things get really strange. On Saturday she was here from about ten in the morning until midnight and then yesterday she was back at what I would consider to be after lunch and didn't leave until almost three this morning and yes, before you ask she is already here and has been for about an hour."

Unable to keep her eyes off the information in front of her Lynn wondered what the hell was going on, Paul had been adamant that she go home at a decent hour and she had been doing that but suddenly she had gone back to how she was before but actually even worse. "Can I keep this information please? I want to have it to hand when I speak with her."

"Of course, be my guest. I hope you don't mind me bringing you in to this but I'm worried about her working so much and you are pretty close to her from all accounts."

"It's fine, don't worry. I've got to get going now but thanks for this; I will make sure that things change for the sake of her safety." She couldn't stop reading over the information as she made her way to the elevator to go up to the office, how and why had things changed so drastically?

When the elevator stopped she quickly glanced up from examining the papers to check the floor she was on before she looked back down to begin her count of how many hours she had spent at work all over again.

"It is nice to see somebody so focussed on their work."

Slowly lifting her head her gaze fell on the boss of the entire company, now this would be awkward. "This isn't my work Mr McMahon; these are the hours that Stephanie has worked the past few days."

"Well obviously the last two days the hours would be zero considering that it is the weekend." The look on her face told him that he was wrong, "It is zero hours isn't it?"

"Sure." She knew that she shouldn't lie but she didn't have the heart to tell him he was wrong as she didn't want to get fired.

Vince's shoulders sagged at the revelation that his daughter was back to working her ass off. "How many hours did she work?"

The elevator had just reached their floor and she thought that she was going to get away without answering that question but he was soon gripping her elbow and steering her out of the elevator and away from prying eyes, "Tell me, please."

If she told Vince exactly how much Stephanie had worked then she was bound to be iced out so she had to find another way to tell him. Holding the papers out towards him she looked around nervously, "You did not see these, especially not from me."

All but snatching the papers he quickly scanned them and found himself disappointed by what he was reading. "Why is she working so hard? Why isn't she going home anymore? Is she missing Paul? Does she need time to go and visit him? I know he has only been gone a week but I am sure I could free up time for her to be able to visit for the weekend."

"I don't know." If she knew the answer to one of those questions it would help, sadly she knew the answer to none of them. "I was going to go and talk to her now about it as security are naturally concerned by the times that she is leaving the office as they are the middle of the night and obviously nobody knows she is here or is leaving at that time so they aren't protecting her as she walks to her car."

"Okay good, thank you. Once you have spoken to her let me know what she has said and if I need to arrange some time off at the end of the week for her."

"Will do Mr McMahon, thank you." She took back the papers from him before she made her way to Stephanie's office; this was going to be interesting.

* * *

It may barely be nine am but Stephanie was already exhausted and stifling a yawn when there was a knock at the door to her office, telling them to go away was her first instinct but unfortunately she had to be polite incase it was her Dad. "Come in." When her secretary walked through the door she desperately tried to hide the annoyance on her face, she didn't want to face her and her questions.

The first thing Lynn noticed as she walked through the door was how pale her boss looked. "Are you okay? You're not coming down with anything are you?"

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"I have seen plain pieces of paper with more colour than you have in your face. I guess if you aren't coming down with anything then it must be to do with how much you have been working."

She wasn't sure what she thought that she knew but she knew nothing so should back off. "I'm not working any more than my Dad is."

"Really?! So your Dad stays in the office until three in the morning does he?" She was going to play it gentle but the person in front of her was the person from a few months ago from before she got with her brother.

Unsure of how she actually knew the information or thought she knew it she was not going to be lectured by her secretary. "I think you have your wires crossed somewhere."

Why she was attempting to treat her like a fool she didn't know, she cared about her and right now she was worried about her. "I am only going off the information from your security pass. Security have already pulled me aside this morning with concern about your pass being used at strange times of the day and night, like Sunday afternoon to be logged in and then the early hours of this morning to be logged out being just one example."

"I think the security system is malfunctioning then as I was with my family yesterday."

Lynn was no idiot and she wasn't going to be treated like one. "Oh, well in that case I will be back in a second." Hurrying out of the office she needed to catch Vince McMahon before he had any meetings. Smiling politely at his secretary she motioned to the door, "Is Mr McMahon free please? I want two minutes of his time, at the most anyway."

"Go ahead but do make it quick please, he is due in a meeting in ten minutes."

"Thanks." She didn't waste any time and soon knocked on the door grateful when he immediately invited her inside. "I'm sorry to bother you Sir but I am trying to make sure that the security pass machines/software are not malfunctioning. Was Stephanie with you all day yesterday?"

He hadn't taken his eyes off her since she walked in to the room but at this point he took off his glasses and placed them on the desk. "We did have a family lunch together yesterday yes, however Stephanie only stayed for lunch and left soon after which would have been just about two as we ate early."

Part of her wanted to believe that the security pass was malfunctioning so now she was disappointed that she had outright lied to her, "Oh. Can I tape you saying that to play back to Stephanie please?"

"Sure, just make it quick."

Two minutes later and Lynn was back in Stephanie's office, "I want you to listen to something." Hitting play on the video she stood there and watched as her boss' face did not change, "Now are you going to tell me the real reason why you are working yourself to within an inch of your life? You need to get away from the office every day, you need to get at least six hours sleep, you just need to relax. I'm surprised Paul isn't on at you for working too hard."

"Who?"

Why was she asking who? Was she sick and they were just missing it? "Paul, you know my brother, your boyfriend."

"Again I will ask you, who? I don't know anybody of that name."

As the minutes passed Lynn was getting even more confused. "Am I missing something here?"

Stephanie could only sigh heavily as she sat back in her chair, this was sounding less and less likely like a conversation that was going to end any time soon. "Paul and I apparently broke up."

"You what?! When?! Why didn't you tell me this? Even if you have broken up it is no excuse to work yourself in to an early grave." It was even more of a shock for Lynn considering she had been speaking with her brother the previous day about Stephanie and how excited he was about moving home and how he couldn't wait to see her whenever he wanted to.

"I don't know, about a week ago maybe? He hasn't returned any of my texts, phone calls or voice mails, I know when I have been dumped, I don't need it spelt out in words of one syllable."

So he hadn't actually dumped her? He had just been an idiot with about one brain cell who failed to recognise the importance of returning his girlfriends calls and actually talking to her? "So he never actually said that you're dumped?"

"He doesn't need to. I've been here before; I know when a man wants to dump you but doesn't know how to tell you so. I need to get back to work though so if you don't mind." She was hoping that if she looked at her laptop and acted like she was working then she would get the hint and leave her alone because she didn't want to keep having that conversation with her because it was awkward telling his sister how he wasn't returning her calls.

She knew when to take a hint about getting to work so leaving the room she went to begin her work.

Although she was attempting to work Lynn couldn't stop thinking about her brother not returning Stephanie's calls or anything and what he had said yesterday and now she was confused.

 _So have you dumped Stephanie or what? She seems to think you have because you're not talking to her._

Satisfied with the text she got up to get some coffee, although Stephanie already had one on her desk when she entered the room she could probably use another one with the hours that she had been working.

* * *

Paul had just gotten out of the shower when he saw the text from his sister; whatever it was he had a feeling that it wasn't going to be good. He was right; when he read the text it wasn't good. He knew that he had been the worst boyfriend over the past week but he was juggling so many things that he had simply failed at even remotely keeping up with her. Prioritising the move over his girlfriend wasn't his best idea and now he had a lot of making up to do and that would start with some flowers and would continue tonight with an actual phone call. One quick phone call later and he was able to go and get dressed and get to work.

When he arrived in work he was summoned to Chris' office and he was regretting getting out of bed, this day was just going from bad to worse and it wasn't even nine am yet. "What can I do for you?"

"How are things going for you in regards to moving?"

Paul was so stressed right now he was on the verge of pulling the plug on it all because everybody wanted a piece of him and he wasn't doing anything right it seemed. Trying to keep his frustration hidden he sat back in his seat, "My landlord has somebody in mind for the apartment so I can move out at any point, my parents are going to store all of my stuff at their house, my sister has found me a good deal at a cheap hotel and all I have to do is book a flight out and finish packing my apartment which shouldn't take more than a couple of hours."

Impressed by how hard he was working Chris couldn't wait to rub in the others face that he had made the right decision. "You really have been working hard haven't you?"

"So hard that my girlfriend thinks that I have dumped her so am probably now in the dog house at the North Pole."

"She will forgive you once you get there."

Chris didn't know Stephanie, it was going to take a hell of a lot more than him moving there for her to actually forgive him for neglecting her, "Yeah, sure."

He had been married long enough to know that it was entirely possible to get out of the dog house. "Trust me; I have been in the dog house enough times to know that you can get out of it."

"Considering my girlfriend thinks that I have dumped her then this will not be simple. If I'm honest though I do not need to be worrying about that right now, I have so much work to do that I don't have the time. Is there anything else?"

"No you're okay; you can go back to work."

"Thanks." As he made his way out of the office he did think about responding to his sister's text but he didn't want for her to end up in the middle between the two of them so it would be best to leave her out of it.

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon and Lynn had barely seen her boss, she wasn't sure if Stephanie was busy or just plain avoiding her by staying in her office. When a delivery man started walking down the hall with a bunch of flowers she smirked, her brother was clearly doing some sucking up.

"Stephanie McMahon?"

"That isn't me but I work for her so can take those for you."

"Thank you. Just sign the pad please and I will be on my way." He handed over his electronic pad and waited for her to sign before he passed her the flower, "Have a good day Ma'am."

"Hmm thanks, you too." She almost took a peek at the card but decided better of it and instead went and knocked on Stephanie's door.

"What?!"

Wincing at the anger in her voice Lynn slowly pushed the door open, "Flowers for you." She held them towards her at arms length not wanting to get too close incase she bit her head off.

"Thank you." She took the flowers from her and placed them on her desk, she wasn't going to look at the card until she was alone as she wasn't in the mood for her to pry in to her business. "Is that all?"

"Yes, I am leaving now." Quickly scurrying out of the office she shut the door behind her and went to sit back at her desk.

* * *

Even when she was alone Stephanie didn't make a move to look at the card, the flowers just remained laying on her desk whilst she attempted to do more work but soon it felt like they were mocking her and she just had to know what they were about. Moving the flowers to her lap she pulled out the card to see what it said:

 _Dear Stephanie,_

 _I know that I have been a terrible boyfriend but I have been really busy with work and making some changes to my apartment and have completely neglected you. I promise to do better._

 _Love you,_

 _Paul xxx_

Rolling her eyes she put the card back in the middle of the flowers where it came from before she dropped the entire bouquet in to the trash can, she was no idiot and knew that he had only sent them because Lynn had said something and she was not going to be in a relationship where his sister had to get involved for him to remember her.

It was just after six and time for Lynn to go home and have a nice long soak in the bath, she felt so stressed by today she really needed it. She didn't bother to knock on Stephanie's door; she just opened it and poked her head inside immediately spotting the flowers in the trash can but didn't say a word, "I'm heading out now, unless you need me for anything. You should think about heading home too, you look exhausted."

"I don't need you thanks and I don't need you to Mother me either, I'll go home when I'm ready."

Pushing the door open a little she put her hands up in defence, "I'm sorry, I am just worried about you as you look exhausted today. I won't say another word. I will see you tomorrow, goodnight Stephanie." Not wanting to stick around to have her head bitten off a second time she left her to it.

Feeling guilty for snapping at her Stephanie's eyes drifted to the flowers in the trash can for what was probably the hundredth time since she dropped them in it, bending down she retrieved the flowers and sat them back on her desk. As mad as she was at him he had spent the money to buy her the flowers and it would be childish to just throw them out just because he had ignored her for a week. A heavy sigh left her lips as she turned her attention back to her work, flowers were one thing, whether he would actually contact her himself remained to be seen.


	31. Chapter 31

Paul's work day hadn't been his most productive day ever, Stephanie was on his mind so much that he was finding it hard to actually focus so when the day came to an end and he could actually go home he didn't hesitate in hurrying out of the door.

When he arrived home he stopped dead in the doorway, he had forgotten exactly how messy his apartment now was thanks to all of the boxes lying around waiting for the actual move. Shutting the front door he went to sit on the couch for five minutes whilst he called his girlfriend, or at least the woman that he hoped was still his girlfriend, before he finished packing and then could focus on things for the other side of the move.

Finally getting some of her work done Stephanie did occasionally glance at the flowers as they sat on the desk and wondered what the future held for them. It was clear that he had only sent the flowers because his sister had said something as it was too much of a coincidence to be anything but that, however it was easy to send flowers, it was harder to man up and pick up the phone though.

Just as she was finishing the pitch to increase the budget for the new logo to include a new letterhead her cell phone began to ring but she hesitated to answer it. She wanted to pick it up to see who was calling but she was also scared to see if it was Paul or not.

The first time he called the phone went to voicemail but refusing to let it deter him Paul called right back. She should be at home so his calls shouldn't be distracting her as she drove.

When the phone stopped ringing before she even picked it up she had to admit that she was relieved because it meant that she didn't have to make a decision about whether to answer it or not however her relief was short lived as it soon began to ring again. This time instead of hesitating she snatched the phone up from the desk and saw his name, why was he calling her? When she wanted so badly to hear from him she didn't but now he was calling her? His sister had a lot to answer for tomorrow.

He was almost ready to give up on calling her tonight when it sounded like the call was answered, "Stephanie?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. You have every right to be mad at me and I understand that you are but please believe me when I say that I am sorry."

Pushing her chair away from the desk she stood up to go and look out of the window, "You are sorry for what exactly?"

It was clear that she wasn't going to go easy on him and he understood that, he just wished that he could be there to grovel in person so that she would look in to his eyes and know that he wasn't lying to her. "Well there is the whole not speaking to you for a week thing and then there is the fact that my sister has been all up in your business."

"It isn't even about the lack of phone calls Paul, you could have just texted me, I wouldn't have minded. What was so important that you only remembered that you hadn't actually dumped me when your sister clearly said something to you?"

"Remembered that I hadn't actually dumped you? Do you want to split up?" Maybe it was because he was so stressed about the move that he didn't understand what she was saying or maybe she was just talking in the riddles that it initially felt like she was.

"Yes dumped me, that is normally why a guy totally freezes you out." She just wanted to get it all out in the open and get it over with and not prolong the misery of pretending that everything was going to be okay.

He took a second to think over what she had said and realise exactly how much his stupidity had hurt her feelings, it would take a lot more than a sorry and some flowers for her to forgive him. "I know that I said that I am sorry but I really did mean it Steph and I promise that I will show you. I also promise that I don't want to split up with you, I was just so distracted by everything that I had going on with work and with the apartment that I put off and put off making calls in favour of trying to get other things sorted."

"And are they sorted? Do you have time for me or is this to just placate me or to make yourself feel better?" Some things she had to know and these were the main questions at the front of her mind.

He winced at the coldness in her tone, this wasn't his girlfriend and it was his own fault, he had done this to her. "Where are you?" Suddenly he had a bad feeling, if he had made her this cold with him then there was a good chance that she was working ridiculous hours again and if she was he would hate himself even more.

Why did he even care about where she was, he hadn't for the last week so what was so different tonight? Absently moving things about on the window sill she didn't see a point in lying to him, "You know where I am."

"Work?"

"Yes. I tried staying home and waiting for your call but really there wasn't a point to it because at the end of the day you weren't going to call so I would rather stay here and get my work done to a high level than be at home with distractions."

He didn't even have the right to lecture her and that bothered him. "Well I am hoping to change that and to call you every night, if you still want to be with me after the fact that I was a complete idiot but I am sorry over that."

"What exactly is going on there Paul? You didn't even have time for me over the weekend when you shouldn't have been working."

He wanted to tell her, he wanted so badly to tell her what was going on but he couldn't, he needed to move and for nothing to fall through before he was honest with her so that he didn't get her hopes up, or his own really because right now he was remaining in denial and trying not to think about the greater picture. If he had any chance of patching things up between them he was going to have to be somewhat honest with her, he had to leave out part of it though. "I found out that I have to move at short notice so I have been spending all of my free time packing up my apartment and making arrangements."

Despite what he had said she still didn't any sympathy for him, if he wanted to make time for her he could have. "Well I'm sorry that you have to move so quickly, I hope that you find somewhere to live. I should go though, I have work to do."

"You mean a home to go to. Seriously Steph you need to go home."

"You don't control me; you can't tell me what to do."

Flinching at the iciness in her tone and the way it cut right to his core it seemed like he had no hope of fixing this until he was there in person and there was no way that he could wait so he was going to have to find a way around it. Until he could get there in person he had to just keep trying to make it better, "You're mad, I get it and I totally understand it but please don't mistake my concern for control. I love you and I just want the best for you so please just do yourself a favour and go home, have an early night and try not to work so hard tomorrow."

Her heart melted a little at the concern that he was showing for her but she wasn't just going to forgive him like that, after going silent for so long he deserved to work harder for her complete forgiveness. "I guess I could go home, Lynn was really annoying today about me working too much."

"She was? What did she say? How much have you been working?"

"I have to go. Bye Paul." Quickly ending the call she wasn't going to get into how much she had been working with him, he hadn't felt the need to worry before tonight so she wasn't going to let him ease his conscience by worrying about her now.

* * *

Pulling the phone from his ear he looked at the screen and frowned seeing her having hung up on him already, "Well that was fast." Things were rough so he did the only thing that he could think to do that would make things better and grabbed his laptop and began to search out flights back to New York.

* * *

Although she acted like she might go home she had no plans on going home, she much preferred being at work and not being surrounded by things that reminded her of Paul.

She thought that she was alone by now; she thought that everybody else had gone home so when her office door opened and she looked up she wasn't entirely thrilled to see her Dad stood there. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I am leaving. What are you doing here?"

Motioning to her computer she rolled her eyes, "Working, what does it look like?"

If she was going to keep up the attitude with him he would make sure that she ended up regretting it because after what he saw today he was far from impressed by her. "Don't act smart with me; nobody else is around so I don't need to deal with your bullshit politely. You know that you shouldn't be working as hard as you are; you know that you should be going home at a reasonable hour so get your shit together and get out. I am not leaving until you do so don't even fight me on this."

Too tired and emotionally drained to argue with her Dad after her phone call with Paul she reluctantly got her things together to go home.

He waited until she had her things together and was walking towards him to leave with flowers in hand before he even brought them up, "Nice flowers, did Paul buy them for you?"

"Yes, he felt guilty so thought that a stupid bunch of flowers would make everything better. Why are men so dumb that they think that if they buy a woman a bunch of flowers then all of their transgressions will be forgiven? It doesn't work like that."

Vince did not understand how or why things had gotten so bad between the two of them, it made him sad to see her so unhappy again. "I am sure that he doesn't think one bunch of flowers will fix things between you, he seems like a smarter young man than that."

Irritated by her Father sticking up for Paul when he didn't even know why she was mad she almost turned around and went back to her office and locked the door so that he couldn't bother her. "He's so smart that he ignored his girlfriend for a week, yeah I couldn't agree any more Dad. Can we not talk about him please? I am sick of him today; it just feels like he has consumed my day."

"Are things really that bad between you?"

"I don't know, I really don't. I feel neglected and now I don't know whether to believe things that he says to me or not because it feels like the only reason he remembered that I existed is because of Lynn reminding him so I don't know whether it was a guilt trip thing."

He wanted to suggest that maybe she didn't know anything was because she was so tired because she had been working too hard but he knew better than to word it like that because she was very much her Father's daughter. "Would you like a few days off to go out and see him to try and sort things out between the two of you? I am sure that I can work around it, you have been working incredibly hard."

"No it's okay, it'll figure itself eventually and anyway, he has to move apartments at short notice so I will only get in the way."

Vince may have been adding two and two together and getting over a thousand or he may be on to something but when she said that he couldn't help but think back to where he had suggested they get an office on the east coast. Nothing made sense as to why he would have to move on short notice unless he was being evicted or unless he was moving across the country. Part of him wanted to contact them tomorrow to find out but he didn't want to get involved in his daughter's relationship no matter how much he liked the guy she was with. "If you are sure, just know that the offer is there if you want it."

"Thanks Dad."

The rest of the walk to the parking lot was done in silence before they hugged and separated with Stephanie promising not to be in work too early the next morning after her Dad threatened to remove her security pass.

* * *

Paul spent most of the night researching flights for the next week and making calls to hotels in the area, he had made plans before but now he was looking at changing those plans quickly for the sake of his relationship.

As soon as he stepped foot in to work he went and knocked on Chris' office door, if anybody was going to understand the predicament that he was in then Chris would.

"Come in."

Stepping inside he shut the door firmly behind him, he was so nervous about this, he really didn't want him to think badly of him for needing this. "I was wondering what the chances of me having next week off are please?"

To Chris this didn't sound good, if he wanted time off already and they hadn't moved yet had they made the wrong decision? "Why do you want time off? Is there a problem?"

"Yes, my girlfriend is mad as hell at me and I need some time before we start having to set things up to clear the air between us. My plan is, if you agree to this, that I will get all of my things shipped to the east coast and have all of my business here handled and then fly out there, spend a week trying to fix my relationship with Stephanie and getting myself all set up over there and then when you arrive and are ready to work I will be there with you and in the same state of mind and not trying to juggle fixing things with her and helping to set things up."

As much as he wanted to say that he could have the time off he didn't know if they could actually spare him with there being so much to finish off here before their move. "I don't know. I would like to say yes but I'm not sure that we can spare you as there is so much to do here and you have clients to finish designs on."

"I can work from my hotel. Steph has to work so I will be spending all day in the hotel any way so I can just work from there during the day. Please at least consider it, I promise that I won't leave you landed with any of my work along with everything else that you have to do."

He was saying all of the right things and coming up with solutions for things on his own so maybe he could persuade the other partners to give him some time off as it was overdue for him. "How close are you to actually being able to make the move?"

"A couple of hours of packing and a couple of hours for it all to be put on to a van to be shipped over there so basically one day." He had already told the shipping company as soon as they opened this morning that he may want to move the date up and they had been okay with it so now he was just hoping that he could be given this time off.

"Let me talk to the other two and I will get back to you later." It was the best that he could offer him for now so hopefully it would satisfy him.

At least it wasn't a no, right now that was all that he could hope for it seemed, "Thank you, I appreciate it." Now to go to work and just wait for an official answer and try not to dwell on the fact that Stephanie seemed to pretty much hate him.


	32. Chapter 32

This is for **hhhfangirl** and **Jade** , enjoy :)

* * *

This was the last place Paul wanted to be right now but he had no other option so hopefully he would get in and out without being noticed.

Slowly walking down the corridor he dragged his two heavy suitcases behind him as he looked around at all times to see if she was around. When he reached the desk and his sister squealed he quickly put his finger to his lips, "Shh, be quiet will you. You can't let anybody know that I am here."

Lynn practically ran around her desk and threw her arms around her brother's neck hugging him tightly, "What are you doing here? Have you skipped out on your job? I thought you weren't moving for at least another week?"

"These are all questions I will answer when we are not here. Do you want to do lunch and can I have the keys to your house please? It's a long ass story and I'll explain over lunch if you have time for me but if not can I just nap on your couch or something please?"

Confused as to why he was here right now and why he was so tired she nodded her head, "Sure, give me a sec to grab my keys for you. If you would prefer to sleep over lunch then that's okay but please before you go can you tell me why you are here now, I thought you weren't due for another week?"

Paul was trying his hardest not to just tell his sister to hurry the hell up but he was beginning to tap his foot impatiently as she seemed to be doing everything in slow motion. He needed to get out of there before Stephanie knew that he was in town.

As she walked back around the desk to give her brother her keys she stopped dead as the office door opened and began to say a silent prayer that he could go unnoticed. "What can I get for you Stephanie?"

Not paying a whole lot of attention to her Secretary she went to continue about her business when she saw him stood there. "What are you doing here?" He was literally the last person she expected to see right now.

"I, uh, I came to get my sister's keys in the hopes of having a shower and a nap."

She didn't know why she had even asked, she wasn't sure why she even cared. "You know what forget it; it's none of my business what you're doing here anyway. I have to give this to my Dad's Secretary so excuse me." Brushing past Paul she didn't even care why he was there right now, she had far more important things to be dealing with.

Lynn's eyes went between her boss and her brother and she was just confused. "What the hell did I miss?"

"I'll tell you at lunch or later, I think it is best if I get out of here right now."

"Sure." Handing him the keys to her house she glanced at her watch, "Meet me in about two hours just outside and we'll do lunch."

"Sounds good. Thanks for these, I appreciate it."

"No problem, see you later." She watched her brother pocket her keys before he walked back down the corridor dragging the suitcases behind him. As he made his way to the elevator she watched him walk past Stephanie and things between the two of them looked awkward, she pretty much ignored him. Carefully putting herself in the way of Stephanie getting in to her office she crossed her arms over her chest, "What the hell is going on and why do I feel like I have been put in a freezer?"

"Nothing, I just had to drop something off to my Dad's Secretary so that she could have it ready for when he returns to work later."

"Except I don't mean that and you know it."

"Ask your brother because I don't know. I never started this so take it up with him. Can I go back to my work now please? Some of us aren't paid to gossip."

Moving out of the way of the door she looked at her watch, lunchtime could not come soon enough for her today.

* * *

When she walked out of the building Lynn immediately spotted her brother who looked slightly less ragged, "Well you look better."

Laughing he rolled his eyes, "Thanks, it's amazing what a shower can do for you. So where are we going for lunch? And before you ask me I don't care, I am way too tired to care."

"Okay fine, come with me." Looping her arm through his she led him to her second favourite spot to get lunch. Once they were sat down she stared across the table at him, "So what the hell happened?"

He knew that she meant with Stephanie but he really didn't feel like answering those questions if he could get away with it. "I was supposed to be taking a red eye and getting in about five this morning but there were a shitload of delays on the flight and problems with passengers on the plane so I didn't get thirty seconds of sleep before we landed about eight. When I got to the hotel to check in and nap they told me that because I hadn't turned up when I said I would they sold my room and they were full so I had nowhere to go which is why I ended up asking for your house keys."

"That is not what I was asking and you know it but damn, that is shitty. Why are you here now? You weren't supposed to be here for another week or so."

It was a simple answer, a really simple answer, "Stephanie."

Did he have to be so vague? Clearly he was keeping something from her but she didn't know what or why, she might actually be able to help him with this. "What about her? Seriously I am good but I'm not **that** good that I can figure things out from one word."

"She is mad at me, really really mad, so I have taken a week off to try and work things out between us or win her back or whatever. I know that initially I was in the wrong but I said I was sorry however she just won't forgive me so I thought that if I were here in person she can't shut me out like she has been doing on the phone."

"You mean ignoring your calls?" She didn't know if that was what she was doing but she was taking an educated guess as she knew that Stephanie was still working insane hours, so much so that she knew that Vince was considering revoking her security pass so that she couldn't.

"I mean either being distant or ignoring me yes." It had been four days since he had finally called his girlfriend again after a week, running on about an hour's sleep per night he had still managed to call her every night, she had answered two nights and ignored him last night when he called before his flight but he wasn't giving up.

Along with looking exhausted her brother looked broken and it made Lynn feel bad for him. "Between you and I there is something that you should know. Since you went all MIA on Stephanie she has started working insane hours and she is still working them now. She is working so much and such crazy hours that Vince is seriously considering revoking her security pass so that she can't get in to the office. What are you planning to do to change her mind about you because it seems like you have a lot of work to do."

Good question, that was a really good question. He honestly didn't know how to change her mind as she was stubborn at the best of times. "I don't know, I will have to find something to do quickly as I only have a week until Chris will be here and I have to work. Any suggestions?"

"None at all I am afraid, you are going to have to figure this out on your own because I already have enough on my plate with dealing with her at work."

"Gee thanks for that." He knew that it was a long shot that she could or would help him but it didn't stop him holding out some hope after how things were earlier.

* * *

After lunch Lynn returned to the office with a coffee for Stephanie, knocking gently on her office door she winced at the way she barked for her to come in. Slowly pushing the door open she held the coffee out far in front of her so that she would see that first, "I come in peace."

"Where have you been?" She didn't mind that she went out for lunch but it would have been nice for her to tell her and for her not to find out when nobody answered the phone.

Taking slow and deliberate steps closer to the desk she was wary of having the coffee thrown over her if she didn't like what she didn't like what she was going to say. "I went to lunch with Paul; I wanted to catch up with him as he surprised me."

"He did? Why is he here then? My Dad never mentioned anything about the logo."

"Yes he did. I think if you want to know why he is here you will have to talk to him."

Stephanie didn't want to know why he was here **that** badly so she would survive without asking him. "Thank you for my coffee, you can go back to work now."

Once she had placed the coffee on the desk she turned to leave the office but stopped halfway to the door, "I am only trying to help here but maybe instead of snapping at me and biting my head off just because he is my brother you talk to him, you will find out a lot more that way."

"I don't want to find anything out, I just want to get on with my job and for others to get on with theirs and leave my personal life out of things."

It would be so easy to say something that could potentially get her fired but she did like her job and despite everything she wanted to keep it. "I don't think people have an issue with your personal life, I think people have an issue with the crazy hours that you are keeping at work. Anything that is being said is being said out of love because people care about you; please don't think that we are saying it because we want anything but for you to be happy and healthy."

She wanted to be happy and healthy too, it was easy for her to lie and say that she was happy but she wasn't, she was miserable. There was nothing she wanted more than for everything to be sorted between the two of them but it just didn't seem to be easy.

When her boss didn't say anything she decided to leave her alone, "I'm going to go back to my desk, enjoy your coffee."

"It's so hard."

Lynn had almost left the office when the voice stopped her in her tracks forcing her to turn back to face her, "What is hard?"

"Forgiving him. I knew that it would be hard being separated by an entire country but I didn't think that within a few days of him going home that he would forget about me for an entire week. I really love him but I don't know if I can do this on a regular basis, if this is how life is going to be I might have to end it now for the sake of my happiness." It felt good to get that off her chest at last. She was the first person that Stephanie had truly been honest with, everybody else; including her closest friends got a load of crap that they probably didn't buy but never challenged her on.

She made sure that the door was shut before she turned back around, "Try talking to him, **really** talking to him and this time you need to listen to the words coming out of his mouth."

She couldn't help but be confused by what she was saying, it was almost like she knew something and wasn't willing to say it. "And then you tell me what the hell you know before my brain explodes."

"I can't say anything that I may know and you may not, just know that you really need to listen to what he has to say, you will feel better for it." Quickly exiting the office she shut the door behind her, she probably had already said too much so it was in her best interest to get out of there before she caved and said even more.

Once she was sat at her desk Lynn decided to do her brother a favour and suggest that he struck whilst the iron was hot and whilst Stephanie seemed willing to actually listen to what he had to say, well hopefully.

 _Do yourself a favour and hope that nap did you some good because you *really* need to talk to Steph tonight, trust me on this.  
_

* * *

Paul had been trying to take a nap but all he was able to think of was Stephanie and the way that she had reacted to him and he just ended up not being able to sleep so he remained laying on the couch and tried to think of the many ways that he could fix this.

The afternoon was beginning to drag for Paul when all of a sudden his phone came to life and he saw the text from his sister. When he read the text he groaned, he really wished that he had managed to get that nap in because if he was going to save his relationship then he needed to talk to Stephanie. If he wanted her to listen to him then he was going to have to wait until after she finished work, he had a feeling that he was going to have to go by the offices though as he didn't think that she was going to be home.

He left his sister's house in plenty of time to get to the offices before she left so that she could smooth things over for him but the traffic was a nightmare and he ended up stuck in traffic for miles. By the time he reached the offices everybody had left, including the receptionist and it was locked with only a bell to ring for attention.

Hesitantly ringing the bell he watched as a burly security guard made his way towards him and he couldn't help but mutter, "Well he looks friendly."

The stern look on his face remained when he pulled the door open, "Yes?"

"Is Stephanie McMahon still here please?"

Eyeing him suspiciously he didn't necessarily recognise the guy so wasn't about to give out that information to some stranger, "Who's asking?"

If he went and spoke to Stephanie there was a good chance that she would deny knowing him so that he couldn't get in to talk to her so he had to try a different avenue. "Never mind, can you tell Vince McMahon that Paul Levesque is here please and ask him if I can see him?"

"Didn't you just want to talk to Stephanie?"

Yes he did, he just wasn't an idiot so had to cover, "I changed my mind, I think Vince will be able to help me more at this point."

"Fine, stay there." All but slamming the door in his face he went to make a call to see if his boss knew this guy or not.

After a couple of minutes the security guard finally returned and opened the door, "He said go right up. You know where he is don't you?"

Forcing a smile he nodded his head, "I do, thank you." Dragging his two heavy suitcases through the empty foyer he called the elevator so that he could make his way up to Stephanie's floor.

When he reached the floor and stepped out of the elevator he spotted Vince stood there and his stomach immediately dropped, this was not going to be good. "Thank you for letting me in Mr McMahon."

"It's fine. I assume you are here to see Stephanie but why are you dragging two big suitcases?"

Because he was a glutton for punishment seemed like a good explanation seeing as he could have gone to the hotel and dropped them off now but chose not to. "It's a long story but there was a problem with my hotel room so I am just dragging them with me before I finally get to go and check in to my hotel home for the next few weeks or months or however long it will be."

Eyebrow raised it almost sounded like the younger man was going to be staying here permanently, "You mean you're staying here for a few months?"

"More like moving here. We are setting up a new office starting the week after next and I'm helping to do that so I've packed everything up and moved across the country to be closer to my family and to Stephanie, not that she would care right now but I've got to try to fix it."

Vince did not envy the young man right now, he had seen the mood his daughter was in most days and he certainly had his work cut out for him. Patting the young man on the shoulder he smiled sympathetically, "Good luck, you are going to need it."

"Thanks. I'll see you around soon though, hopefully." With one McMahon down he only had one to go and this was going to be the hardest of them all but hopefully she would listen to him this time, she just had to.


	33. Chapter 33

As requested by **StepHHHelmsley** , I hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

Everybody had left a long time ago which meant that Stephanie was able to get on with her work in silence without any interruptions as the phone had stopped ringing and people had stopped walking by talking in a much louder voice than was necessary.

It amazed her how much more she enjoyed doing her work when she was alone, or maybe she was just enjoying it because it was keeping her out of the house and keeping her mind occupied so that she wasn't thinking of Paul. Much to her dismay her silence was shattered by a knock at the door, "What?!" If they could be rude by interrupting her work then she could be rude right back.

He hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep to deal with cranky Stephanie, he just didn't have any sort of option in this so reluctantly turning the handle it was time to face the music.

As the door slowly opened and she spotted him she sighed heavily, could this day get even worse? "How did you get in?"

"Does it matter? I just wanted to talk to you." Placing his suitcases against the wall he already knew that this was not going to be easy.

"Do I want to ask why you are carting suitcases around everywhere you go?"

"There was a problem with my flight and then my hotel room so I have just been hanging out at Lynn's place all day and haven't checked in to my hotel before I came here as talking to you was more important."

She had been listening to him, vaguely; she had just turned most of her attention back to her work. "Well I hope that your hotel is ready for you tonight as you need sleep before you have work tomorrow."

The amount of care that was lacking in her statement actually hurt, she seemed like she didn't care about him at all, that or she was just cutting herself off emotionally from him. "I don't have work tomorrow; for the most part I have a week off."

"Oh."

She wasn't engaging with him which was problematic because he wasn't able to even attempt to fix things between them. If she wasn't going to ask any questions or really have a conversation with him then he was just going to have to talk and hope that she would listen to him. "I took the week off because I really wanted to try and fix things between the two of us, I didn't want to start my new life without you."

His new life? What the hell was going on and why was she so scared? "Oh right, so this is the official break up then?"

"What?!" Where had she gotten that from? Had he been too vague with her?

"Your new life, you're moving on and looking for happiness elsewhere right?" She couldn't even look at him as she spoke, she was too afraid that if she did she would break down. Yes she had put on an icy façade and pretended that she didn't care about him but the truth was she cared too much and she didn't want to get hurt. She hoped that this would be over with quickly as she didn't want the prolonged pain.

There seemed to be all sorts of crossed wires so he moved around her desk and knelt on the floor beside her chair forcefully turning her chair around so that he could look at her but she deliberately turned her head away from him. "Please can you look at me Stephanie? I need you to look at me."

Her eyes darted around the room looking anywhere but at Paul but eventually her eyes settled on him and a heavy sigh left her lips, for the first time she really looked at him and he looked exhausted. "I'm looking, you look exhausted."

"Yeah, I haven't slept since yesterday so I am a little tired." Quickly changing the subject back to what he wanted to say he took hold of her hands and was surprised when she didn't pull away, "The new life that I have is here on the east coast. The company is opening a second office over here thanks to all of the work your Dad has put their way and I have transferred to be closer to you, to my family. The reason that I ignored you for that week was because I was too busy packing up my entire apartment and organising where to store my stuff, how I was going to get it here and where I was going to stay."

"You're . . . staying? For good?"

He wasn't sure if that was a good reaction or not but he was going to run with it. "I am staying here for good. I have roughly ten days off, well technically I still need to do some work during the day whilst you are working and then I can spend my evenings trying to win you back before I then have to go back to work and spend a few weeks with Chris setting up the new office. Somewhere in all of that I have to go looking at apartments and try to find somewhere to actually live."

Was this really happening? It felt so much like a dream that she didn't want to believe that it was real, that he was really going to be moving here for good. "Why are you doing all of this?"

He thought that might have been obvious but apparently not. "Because I couldn't bear being apart from you. I missed you Steph, I want to be as close to you as possible and being on the other side of the country just wasn't cutting it for me. I know that I didn't exactly show it when I ignored you but it was only because I was in a rush to do this for us. I understand that I have a lot to make up for and I am happy to make up for it all because it is entirely my fault that you are mad at me."

Slipping off her chair she moved to kneel on the floor before she pulled her hands from his but immediately wrapped them around his neck and hugged him tightly, "I thought that you regretted this."

Being able to hold his girlfriend in his arms was amazing when he thought that she was going to be mad at him for a long time to come. Incase this was going to be a case of her realising what she was doing and soon pulling away Paul wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, "I love you."

"I love you too." And despite everything she did love him, no matter what he did it wasn't going to change the simple fact that she did love him.

Pushing his luck a little further he pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she buried her face in his neck. "We can fix this Steph, if we both want it we can fix it. First things first though, you need to get out of here and get some sleep."

Immediately fighting out of his embrace she didn't want to be told what to do by him, not yet anyway as things were still a bit too sensitive. "You don't own me; you can't tell me what to do."

"I was going to invite you to dinner but I didn't want to push my luck, I hoped that if you didn't think it was too soon then you would offer. I guess that just backfired spectacularly on me." His arms felt empty again without her in them and he also hated how quick she was to get mad at him.

Now she didn't know whether she should be mad at him or if she was overreacting, this was not fun at all. Luckily for her there was a knock at the door which interrupted her beating herself up and questioning herself a thousand times over, "Yes?"

The door opened and Vince stepped inside confused as to why they were both kneeling on the floor, "Is there a problem?"

"No problem." Pushing herself back in to her seat she focussed on being business minded, "So what can I help you with Vince?"

"I just came to see if you were going home any time soon? If you're not leaving within the next ten minutes I am actually going to get security to kick you out, no joke." He was determined to get her to leave at a decent hour, if she didn't leave willingly soon then he was going to kick her out and when she came in tomorrow she would find that her security pass did not work.

He already knew that she wasn't going to go to dinner with him so Paul pushed himself to a standing position, "I'm going to head out and see if my hotel is ready yet. Call me if you change your mind about dinner."

Awkwardly walking towards the door he smiled politely at Vince before he moved his suitcases from the wall and pulled them behind him as he left her office.

* * *

Looking between his daughter and her boyfriend as he sadly made his way out of her office Vince could not figure out what was going on in her head and why she was just letting him walk out on her. "Is there a reason you are letting him just walk out on you?"

"I'm busy, I have things to do."

There was only so long any one person would buy that excuse for and he was long past that point. "Strangely enough I'm not an idiot and I know that you are lying to me."

Why was everybody getting on at her about forgiving Paul and living happily ever after with him? Sure he said he had ignored her because he was focussed on moving closer to be with her but he had still ignored her and there was a chance that he would just do it all over again when he had a new excuse.

"I know that you love him, I also know that he loves you so no matter what the issue between you is if you **really** want to be with him then you will go after him and work it out, stop torturing yourself." Maybe a gentle kick up the ass was all she needed, there was a good chance that it wasn't but he was going with the less violent option first.

"It is so easy for you to say forgive him but you're not the one he ignored for a week."

"And why exactly did he ignore you for a week? He seems like a polite young man so he has to have had a reason."

She still thought forgiving this once would just be a slippery slope to being ignored a lot by him no matter how much her Dad apparently tried to convince her otherwise. "He said that he was packing his apartment and getting ready to move here to be closer to me."

Why the hell was she so mad at him? He came to the conclusion that he was never going to understand women, they were just so confusing. "Okay fine, I get that ignoring you is really bad and he should have at least texted you but come on Steph, stop punishing him for wanting to do something good for your relationship."

Her voice dropped barely above a whisper as she looked down at her desk unable to meet his gaze, "He walked away once, I can't cope with him doing the same a second time so if I push him away then I won't get hurt."

That seemed to be working well for her, not. "Steph he moved his entire life back here from California to be with you, I don't see him walking away any time soon. Stop letting your insecurities run your life, unless you let him in then you have no hope of being happy. Just go and catch him and go to dinner before he walks away and gives up on you for good."

She wanted to argue but he had a point, if she wasn't careful she was going to lose him forever. Hastily stuffing things in to her purse she needed to catch him before he left because if he did he may not even answer her calls and she would be screwed.

"Just go, I will tidy this up for you." Vince watched his daughter hesitate before she just grabbed her bag and ran for the door leaving him to finish up for her which he was happy to do if it was going to get her relationship back on track so that she wouldn't be working such crazy hours.

* * *

Stood outside the offices with his suitcases he felt stupid, he had come here to fight for her but she didn't want him to fight for her, she just wanted to forget he happened, or that's how it felt. It was going to be a good ten minute wait for a cab so he was going to sit on his suitcases and wait as he was so tired his legs wouldn't hold him up any longer.

* * *

So desperate to catch him before he left Stephanie practically ran through the front door of the offices which earned her a shouting at by the security guard but she didn't care, she just wanted to catch him.

Pausing outside to catch her breath she glanced around half expecting to see him already having left but seeing him sat there on his suitcases gave her hope. "Paul."

When he heard his name being called he knew that it was Stephanie, he just didn't know what she wanted although part of him did expect her to tell him to fuck off. Not having the energy to stand up he swivelled on his suitcase to look at her, "Can I help you?"

Terrified that she had lost her chance she couldn't bear to look him in the eyes so just stared down at the floor, "Is the dinner invitation still open?"

"Uh . . . why?" It was all he could think to say, she was so adamant that she pretty much didn't want to be anywhere near him five minutes ago so the last thing he expected was for her to have changed her mind.

"Because I'd like to go to dinner with you if it is. An old man told me to stop letting my insecurities ruin my relationship before I lose you for good."

She had insecurities about their relationship? Why did he have no idea about any of this? His entire body practically groaned as he pushed himself up from the suitcase to stand eye to eye with her, "You have insecurities?"

As people rushed past on their way to somewhere she couldn't help but feel like here and now was entirely the wrong time to discuss that, "Have dinner with me and I'll be completely honest with you."

How could he possibly say no to that? "You have yourself a deal. I have a cab due in like five minutes or something so what do you want to do?"

"I have a car in the parking lot. Call the cab company and cancel and we'll figure something out about where we are going to eat."

He would take that offer over being alone tonight so quickly called the cab company and cancelled his cab before he followed her to the parking lot.

* * *

As she drove out of the parking lot the atmosphere in the car was awkward but neither of them was really surprised because it was an awkward situation to be in. "What would you like for dinner?"

"Truthfully I'm too tired to care; I haven't slept since the day before yesterday so just go for anything."

If he hadn't slept for that long then the last thing he would want was to be around people so she decided to just ask what he wanted, "Yours or mine?"

"I know it is further for you but can we go to my hotel please and then I can just fall in to bed?"

"Sure." If he offered for her to stay right now she knew that there was a chance that she actually would but she was jumping the gun and getting way ahead of herself, he was probably really mad at her and wouldn't want her anywhere close to touching him and it would serve her right.

Once he told her where he was staying the drive there was done in silence apart from the low noise of the radio in the background, he really loved this woman but he didn't know where he stood with her so kept himself relatively quiet as he tried to wrap his head around her mood swings.

Stephanie stopped off to pick up a Chinese takeout picking up his favourite food as he almost dozed off in the passenger seat. When they reached the hotel and she parked up she nudged him gently, "Hey, you ready to go in?"

Stifling a yawn he nodded his head and climbed out of the car to grab his luggage. With his two suitcases in hand he dragged them in to the hotel and straight to the reception desk. "Paul Levesque, you should have a room for me and if you don't I want to see a manager."

"No it's okay, we have your room, well technically we call them suites but it is exactly what you booked. There is a note on the system from the manager, apparently he or she apologises for last night and you have three nights free."

That was certainly a surprise but a pleasant one as he was already dropping enough money long term on this place. "Well thank you, I appreciate the apology but the free nights weren't necessary however thank you for them. I can take food to my room right? I did ask for one with a kitchen."

"Of course you can. I just need to see your id and your card that you booked the room with and you can go right on up."

A couple of minutes later with key in hand he made his way over to Stephanie, "We can go up now; you can see it in person for the first time at the same time as me."

It was a short distance up in the elevator but things were still as awkward as ever between the two of them so both were incredibly grateful when it came to a stop and the doors pinged open.

When he began walking to his room Paul glanced back at Stephanie, he loved this woman so much but felt so much distance between them, he just wanted to fix it and for them to be happy again. Hopefully tonight was the night that he could make it happen and they would sort things out.


	34. Chapter 34

When he pushed the door open to reveal his room he was pleasantly surprised by the size and how plush it was for what he was paying. "Well this is nicer than I was expecting."

Stepping passed him as he held the door open for her she placed the bags on the counter that was part of the "kitchen" before she took a look around, "It really is a nice place."

"Hopefully it will be a comfortable home for me for the time being. I don't know if there are any plates or cutlery in the kitchen but I can call down and ask if room service can spare some if there isn't."

"Why don't you get yourself comfortable a minute and I will sort this out." She was more awake than he was so she felt like it was her duty to take care of him tonight. Beginning to look through the few cupboards and drawers in the kitchen she was surprised to find two plates and a couple of mismatched pairs of cutlery but it would do. She took it all over to the counter and began to dish up some dinner for them.

* * *

The entire time that she was moving around the kitchen he was watching her, he just couldn't believe that she was willingly in the same room as him and wasn't angry. As she began to walk towards him with two plates of food he got himself comfortable on the bed ready to eat. It was only when she handed him his plate that he realised what she had gotten and he felt entirely stupid for not realising sooner. "You got Chinese? Thank you. Thank you for dishing it out too, that is so kind of you."

She didn't know what came over her but she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "I know Chinese is your favourite so I thought that you may enjoy it."

He had to try so hard not to smile when she kissed him, it may only be on the cheek but it was a lot more than he was expecting from her. "I was happy with anything that you wanted really but I appreciate that you picked my favourite. Sit wherever you want and wherever you are comfortable."

There was plenty of room on his bed so she carefully climbed on to the bed and crossed her legs resting the plate on top of them and began to eat her dinner.

* * *

Both eating in silence neither attempted to begin a conversation but once they had finished and they got up to put their plates in the kitchen their time of silence was drawing to a close, there was going to be no way of them ignoring the elephant in the room for much longer.

As she packaged away the leftovers to put in the little fridge in the room she began to chew on her lip anxious about what they were going to talk about, she wanted to fix things, she thought, she just wasn't so sure that she was ready to tell him that she was terrified that he was going to walk away from her again.

Removing her hands from the packaging he took it from her and placed it in the fridge, "I just wanted to make sure that the food was still edible and you didn't strangle it to death."

Furiously blushing she ducked her head, "I'm sorry, I got distracted."

He placed his hand on her arm and squeezed it gently, "It's okay, I hope that it was a nice distraction."

There was nothing nice about her distraction as it was all fear. "Put it this way, I wasn't dreaming about fields of pretty flowers."

There were many questions that he could ask her but he decided to just not ask anything and risk his luck by sliding his arm around her waist.

His hand on her hip and the warmth of his body against her arm had her sighing happily and leaning in to him, how did he manage to do this to her without saying a word? "We shouldn't do this."

"Do what? I just have my arm around your waist; it isn't like we are making out or something."

Even so it felt wrong; there was still so much to be discussed between the two of them so she stepped away from him.

When she walked away from him he felt his heart sink, he was so tired and all he wanted to do was just hold her close and probably fall asleep really really fast, the last thing that he wanted was for them to begin to fight, if he had thought that it would go to that point he wouldn't have even asked her to dinner to begin with.

She knew that they couldn't continue dancing around the subject so walking over to the bed she sat down heavily, "We need to talk, if you are up to it."

If it meant that they could fix things between them he would willingly talk to her right now, even if his eyes really didn't want to stay open for much longer. "Sure, just please don't take offense if something comes out wrong as I am exhausted."

"I don't mind, I think. I just want to sort this out because the limbo is killing me."

Slowly walking over to the bed to take a seat he had to try his best not to say something that he would end up regretting. "Don't take this the wrong way but I have wanted things to be better between us for days, you are the one who has iced me out and been so angry."

"I'm scared okay?" Wow, that came out a lot quicker and easier than she had hoped. She didn't want them to go around and around in circles but she did want him to work to make things better between the two of them.

Scared? What on earth was she scared of? He had made one stupid mistake and was paying dearly for it without her confusing him. "What are you scared of?"

"Technically you." Beginning to chew nervously on her lip she couldn't look him in the eye now, he was going to be so mad at her and she could understand why.

He was too tired for riddles so he was just going to rip the metaphorical band-aid off and ask for an explanation. "I probably won't like what you are about to say but can you just explain to me why it is that you are scared of me please?"

"I am not scared of you as a person nor do I think that you would physically hurt me, I am just scared of getting emotionally hurt."

On the one hand he was relieved that she knew he wouldn't physically hurt her, on the other hand he was sad that she thought that he could possibly hurt her emotionally because in his experience emotional scars last a lot longer than the physical ones.

The sound of his phone broke the silence that had taken over the room, removing the phone from his pocket he frowned when he saw that it was from Chris, "Shit, I need to take this as it is Chris." He waited for her to nod before he answered the call, "Chris, what's up?"

Stephanie sat there not really paying any attention to what he was saying on the phone because she kept replaying the moment she told him that she was scared of him emotionally hurting her and the look on his face.

Finally getting Chris off the phone after promising to look at the email first thing in the morning once he had actually gotten some sleep he turned his phone off and practically threw it on the bedside table top so that he could turn his attention back to Stephanie. "I am really sorry about that, apparently there is an urgent email that I need to look at but once I explained to him that I hadn't slept at all in almost forty eight hours he forgave me for not getting to it and allowed me to sleep and look at it tomorrow." He was going to ask her where they were but he quickly remembered, "Why, how, whatever, do you think that I could emotionally hurt you?"

Couldn't he have asked her a simpler question? Maybe something about the weather because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings and she felt like she was going to do that when she actually answered his question.

"Steph? Come on; please just be honest with me." He reached across and placed his hand on her arm, "I am here for you and I am ready and willing to listen to whatever it is that you have you say. I may be exhausted and half asleep but I want to fix this between us more than I want sleep."

He was being so incredible and so sweet which made her feel even worse for doubting him and their relationship. "I am scared that you will walk away again, like you did when we were in College. When you completely ignored me for a week I thought that you had done it again, just this time you hadn't told me."

How could she possibly think that of him? He had been so happy when he found her again and they had gotten together, the last thing he would ever do was walk away from her again, he had made that mistake once and wasn't going to repeat it. "I won't ever be repeating the mistake of walking away from you. When I first walked away from you I thought that I was doing it for the right reasons and it was the best thing for the both of us but it wasn't. I was miserable without you and then I missed you when I didn't speak to you for a week but I was so focussed on what the result of all of the work that I was doing was that it gave me the strength to continue but I realise how it looked to you. I am willing to work hard to earn your trust back and to prove to you that I will never do that to you. Hopefully the move goes a little way to proving to you how committed I am?"

She wanted to say yes, she wanted to say that it did show his commitment towards her but her brain was just sticking and refused to have faith in him.

The lack of response made him nervous, maybe this just wasn't able to be fixed? If she wasn't willing or able to trust in him then what hope did they have as a couple? "Don't feel obligated to give this another try if it isn't what you want."

"But it is, it really is. I want to be with you, I hate being without you but my brain can't help but think that maybe it is all convenient and one big coincidence, maybe your move was for your family and you're saying it was for me because it works for what you want."

Staring at her he wasn't sure what to say, on what planet would he ever do something like that to her?

"It isn't that I truly believe that but I am nervous. This is real, you are actually here for good and we can have an actual relationship all of the time and don't have to do long distance at all . . ."

"Unless I have to go back to California or anywhere else for work." He risked everything by jumping in because the last thing that he wanted was for her to think that he would never leave her and then get mad if/when he did have to leave.

"Okay fine, apart from those occasions. With you being in the same state as me I am going to have expectations, not high but there will be some that I expect you to meet."

That made him nervous but he was willing to attempt to meet her standards, or try to. "Go on then, what are your standards?"

"I expect at least one date a week, unless you are working out of state, and I expect texts or phone calls through the week."

"Is that it? Personally I was going to try to aim for a couple of date nights a week or the weekend together or both, unless you got sick of the sight of me."

Smacking his arm she shook her head, "You know that I wouldn't get sick of the sight of you. Do you really mean that you want to have more than one date night a week and/or spend the entire weekend together?"

Slowly nodding his head he felt like he was answering a trick question, "Well yes, that is what you do in a relationship isn't it? You spend some quality time together and I certainly want to do that with you."

Blushing she looked down at the comforter before she looked back up at him only to find him stifling a yawn, "You need to go to sleep, you look exhausted and can clearly hardly keep your eyes open. I will leave you alone."

He reached and grabbed hold of her arm before she moved too far away, "Stay."

"I'm not sure Paul; we are only just fixing things between us."

What was the issue with her staying the night? He was going to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow anyway. "Steph I am that tired that as soon as my head hits the pillow I will be asleep, I would just like to actually fall asleep holding you and if I wake up at a ridiculous hour it would be nice to wake up with you in my arms. If you don't want to stay then that is your choice, I won't force it on you."

It would be nice to go to sleep in his arms and she would have to leave early in the morning so what harm could it do? Silently bending down she pulled off her shoes and tossed them to the side, "So do you have anything I can borrow to sleep in please?"

"Of course. Try one of the suitcases, you should find a shirt in one of those." He was so happy that she was staying, he thought that she was going to leave and he had pushed his luck too far so this was a nice surprise.

Looking at his suitcase leaning against the wall untouched she felt guilty about going through them to look for a shirt seeing as he was going to be living out of them for a while, "It's okay, I will just steal the one that you are wearing."

"It will stink; I have been wearing it all day."

"I will live."

Too tired to argue with her he simply shrugged his shoulders and slid off the bed to get undressed.

A couple of minutes later and she was wearing his not so smelly shirt, "I'm just going to use the bathroom, I will be back now."

In her absence Paul climbed in to bed but stayed sat up, he wasn't going to lie down until she was in bed. It only took a couple of minutes for that to happen so seeing her walking towards him he slid down in the bed, "You don't need to call anybody and tell them where you are or anything do you?"

"I don't think so; I can if you want though?"

"I don't know, I just didn't want you to get in trouble."

"My Dad knows that I was coming after you to go for dinner together so I think if he does want me and can't get me he will try you so I will be fine not telling anybody." As she climbed in to bed she couldn't help but think how she didn't want to tell anybody anyway, it always felt like somebody was interfering in her life and she was over it.

The atmosphere in the room had changed and he felt like he had said the wrong thing but he hadn't meant to, he just didn't want anybody to worry about her. Sliding further down in the bed he lay down hoping it would encourage her to lie down also so that he could finally shut his eyes.

When her boyfriend lay down Stephanie tried to push all thoughts of the people that had spent the past week getting on her back to the back of her mind and instead lay down and cuddled close to him, "Sleep well Paul."

Having her close enough that he was able to wrap his arms around her comfortably as she lay beside him was nice, especially when she didn't pull away but instead cuddled a little closer, "Thanks. Night Steph."

She rested her head on his chest and sighed softly, "Night Paul." The way that the rise and fall of his chest indicated that his breathing evened out pretty quickly made her smile, he was happy and relaxed and she was pretty happy and relaxed herself tonight. Letting her eyes slide closed she relaxed and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning she woke up and smiled feeling how tightly he was holding her; neither of them seemed to have moved much in the night because she was pretty much in exactly the same position just a little closer.

Reluctantly raising her head she looked at the clock and groaned, she really needed to leave so that she could get home to change and get to work on time.

Biting down on her lip she was so desperate not to wake him when she got up. Pressing a soft kiss to his bare chest she carefully and very slowly began to extract herself from his arms eventually freeing herself without waking him up at all. Now free she slid out of bed and began to get dressed again draping his discarded shirt neatly on the bottom of the bed before she left as she had to get across town, shower, change and hopefully eat breakfast before she then had to be at work.

* * *

When Paul woke up and felt how empty his arms were he lifted his head to look around disappointed when he saw his shirt on the end of the bed. He let his head fall back to the pillow sighing heavily, he should have known that it was too good to be true that she would forgive him and the two of them could actually be happy together.

The sound of his stomach rumbling filled the room momentarily distracting him from his thoughts about Stephanie, rolling his head to the side to look at the clock he saw that it was well gone nine which hopefully meant that she had left to go to work, it also meant that he had missed breakfast here at the hotel and if he didn't get a move on he would be in deep trouble with Chris. Hastily throwing the covers off his body he climbed out of bed to shower and then get on with his day.


	35. Chapter 35

She may have been running a little late as she walked in to work but she wasn't worried, she figured that her Dad would be relieved that she wasn't in early.

The approach to her office made her nervous; she didn't want to play twenty questions with Lynn because for her there were still plenty of questions even if she did get some answers last night. Her mind was elsewhere as she walked closer to her office, so much so that she didn't hear her name being called but stopped when something hit her in the side of the head, "What the fuck?"

Lynn felt like she had been calling her boss' name forever so she took drastic measures and threw an eraser that for some reason was lying around on her desk but it came in handy as she was able to hit her and draw her attention, "At fucking last. I have been calling your name forever. Where have you been?"

"Traffic was shocking and I was running late so it was a terrible combination. I'm not that late so there was no need to throw a . . ." Looking on the floor around her she finally saw what had hit her in the head, bending down she picked it up and tossed it gently back on to the desk, ". . . an eraser at me. Why did you throw it at me anyway?"

"Well in the fifteen minutes that you have been missing I have had that guy from Monday on the phone repeatedly and he is beginning to drive me crazy. For the love of my sanity please just call the asshole back."

"Asshole?" For all of the time that she had worked with Lynn she had never known her to call somebody names before.

"He has grown increasingly more impatient and ruder. I don't know where he expected me to magic you from; I don't have the ability to pull you out of my ass."

Stephanie couldn't help but wince as she listened to her secretary talk, in all of the years that she had known her she had never once spoken about a client like that. "Was he that bad?"

He was worse than bad, she already wanted a drink and it wasn't even nine o'clock yet. "He was so bad. I might go and buy myself a bottle of wine to drink at my desk just to get through the rest of the day. Have these notes and enjoy talking to him right now so that I don't resign until you do."

"Thank you for these. I will go and call him now so that you don't need to turn to alcohol." She took the notes and headed in to her office to call him with a small smile on her face, nothing would take away her happiness today, she had Paul back in her life and they were getting back on track.

* * *

Paul had breakfast and began to unpack a little after he had done the work for Chris but he kept thinking about Stephanie, he kept thinking about the fact that she left at some point without leaving a note and hadn't texted him and his mind was driving him crazy.

It was getting closer to lunch so he decided to take a break from being cooped up in the hotel room and went to grab his lunch and a little something extra for Stephanie just incase she wasn't completely done with him and just hadn't told him.

* * *

Time was passing so slowly for her this morning, ever since she had called the client back and he had shouted at her for missing a tiny, mostly insignificant, detail after he had almost driven her secretary to drink she had been moody. When her door opened and her Dad appeared in front of her she immediately put her hand up to him, if he was about to ask about Paul she didn't want to go there, "If you are here to discuss last night just don't. I have had one hell of a morning and am not in the mood."

"It's a good thing I have come for work then isn't it? Lynn said you were free and to just come straight in, sorry if I did the wrong thing."

"It's okay." Sighing with relief she moved her work to the side to make space for whatever it was her Dad was more than likely going to spread across her desk, "I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"Don't worry." Taking a seat he spread out two piece of paper on the table, "So one is the logo we agreed on, the other is the logo that the company making the big sign for the front of the building want to actually make. Which do you prefer? If it is the other sign then I will need to have the actual logo altered."

* * *

When he arrived outside of his girlfriend's office his sister was nowhere to be found, he assumed that the only time that she would actually be away from her desk was if Stephanie was free so he didn't even think about knocking before he opened her office door, "Hey you."

Her office door opening a second time briefly distracted Stephanie from the logos but when she saw her boyfriend she blushed a little. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh . . ." He spotted Vince as soon as he had spoken and now he was lost for words, "I'll wait outside until you're done. Sorry for interrupting Mr McMahon, I will just shout at my sister."

"It's fine, you don't have to leave Paul. We are only discussing the logo."

Stephanie stood up despite her Dad being in the room and walked over to her boyfriend and gave him a quick hug, "You are a mind reader, thank you."

Confused he blinked a few times stupidly expecting that to clear his mind but it didn't however his girlfriend was holding his hand and walking back to her seat so he just followed her.

She took a seat back at the desk and smiled at the way he sat on the floor beside her chair placing the bag that he was carrying to the side and crossed his legs just sitting their quietly allowing her to do her work but giving her the comfort she so desperately needed from him being there with her.

Bringing herself back from her daydream she turned to focus on the logos in front of her, "So which one do I prefer?"

"Yes, which one do you prefer? I have my personal favourite but I wanted your opinion on it."

The thought of picking the wrong logo with her boyfriend right there beside her scared her a little but this needed to be right for the company so picking up both pieces of paper she examined them closely before she found a favourite. Once she had her favourite she dropped the other logo to the desk, "I prefer this one, it looks more polished, more professional."

Strangely enough that was the one he had chosen also, "Is that your honest opinion and not just said because the person who drew one of the logos is beside you?"

"Yes. To be honest I don't know which one is Paul's, I just know that I really do prefer this one, it will look better like this on the front of the building."

Now Paul was really curious about why they were discussing two different logos so pushing himself up and moving to his knees he grabbed the discarded logo from her desk to look at. "Seriously who butchered the logo? The colours especially are all wrong, the letters will blend together and it will look really ugly." It was only when he finished talking that he realised that he had completely overstepped his boundaries, he was here to see his girlfriend and not to tell them how to run the company, "I'm sorry Mr McMahon, I really should have kept my mouth shut."

"But you're right Paul. I wasn't happy with their proposed changes which is why I wanted Stephanie's opinion on it. I will leave the two of you alone though, thank you both for your opinions." He snatched the logo from his daughter's hand before taking the offered logo back from Paul and left the office.

Once they were alone she turned to look at her boyfriend unable to resist the urge to lean forward to press a kiss to his lips, "What did I do to deserve this visit?"

She just kissed him, now he was confused. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Well that sounds ominous. What's wrong?"

"I don't know." And truthfully he didn't right now, "I came to see what was wrong and why you left my hotel room with no note or anything because I thought that we were getting somewhere but then you just kiss me and it's like things are getting better between us and now I am just confused."

It was only after she had left his hotel room did she realise that she should have left him a note and by then it was too late and she hadn't wanted to text him incase she woke him up because she couldn't remember if he had turned his phone off or not so now she felt bad. "I'm sorry. I was in a bit of a hurry this morning to leave as I needed to get home to shower and change and get to work, which I was late for anyway."

"So you stayed all night?"

"I did, I left about 7ish this morning. Why would you think that I didn't?"

He could only shrug his shoulders feeling incredibly guilty for expecting the worst.

"You thought I left last night didn't you?"

"Maybe? It isn't so much that I thought you'd lied or something when you said you'd stay, I just stupidly expected that you would continue to be incredibly mad at me and would take revenge."

It sounded stupid when he said it but she could kind of understand his point of view, she had basically ignored him for a few days just because he had done the same to her. "Honestly Paul I didn't, I meant it when I said I wanted to fix us. I didn't chase after you last night for fun; I did it because I want us to be together and happy, especially now that you are going to live here. I only left for work and I didn't leave a note because I forgot and when I remembered it was too late and I didn't want to send a text early to wake you. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too for jumping to conclusions."

"It wasn't really a conclusion you jumped to, it was a natural thought process so I'm not mad at you. Do you want to go out for lunch or maybe come over for dinner tonight, or both?"

He felt spoiled for choice now, he would love to do both but he really needed to sort his suite out so that it was as comfortable as possible for when he began to work properly. "Technically I brought you lunch but I still really need to pick one or the other so I can sort my suite out as even though I have taken a week off I still have to work during the day."

Trying hard to hide her disappointment she forced a smile, "It's okay, I understand that you need to be happy where you are living and that comes first."

It didn't come first, it was just essential for the sake of his sanity. "Could we maybe do dinner at yours tonight please? And maybe if I am a really good boy I could stay over?"

He was so cute the way that he asked if he could stay over; it was so adorable it fought away her sadness and replaced it with a smile. "I definitely think that can be arranged for you if you play your cards right."

"Trust me, I will be playing all of my cards right tonight so that I can spend the night in bed with you and hold you close so that I can feel your body so close to mine again as I sleep like a log with you next to me."

She wasn't sure why but Stephanie's mind immediately went to sex the second he started about feeling her body next to his. She was sure that she was blushing a deep shade of red right now so ducked her head to avoid him seeing her cheeks and asking questions.

When she didn't reply at all he felt like he had overstepped the line and said too much or been too forward or something. "Sorry, I should think before I open my mouth."

Spinning her seat around she locked her legs around his waist as best she could to prevent him actually standing up, "It was fine, you were fine. I liked hearing that you slept well sharing a bed with me."

"I did. Why exactly have you locked your legs around my waist? Is there something you . . . want?" He almost made a joke about sex simply from the position they were in but at the last minute thought better of it and he was glad that he did as the second he mentioned it she unlocked her legs as it seemed like from the chest up she flushed a lovely shade of pink.

"You looked like you were leaving; I couldn't let you leave just yet."

"I do need to leave, and stand up though." It was true, he did, if he wanted to go to hers for dinner and not leave himself a lot of work to do tomorrow he needed to leave to get hopefully all of it done and over with.

When she unlocked her legs he pulled himself up using her desk groaning at the stiffness in his knees as he stretched his legs out, "Remind me to never kneel on the floor for that long ever again, my knees don't like it."

"Aww, you poor old man."

"Old man? Pfft, I'll give you old man." As fast as he could his fingers found their way to her sides as he bent down and began to tickle her laughing at the way she quickly began squirming and trying to get away from him.

"Paaaauuuullll!"

"Whhhaaaaatttt?"

When his fingers dug into a particularly ticklish spot on her side she squealed and decided to fight fire with fire, as his face was close enough to her she leaned up whilst pulling him down closer to her and kissed him.

Melting in to her kiss he stopped tickling her but kept his hands on her sides holding her.

* * *

When Lynn heard a squeal from Stephanie's office she immediately got up from her chair and threw open the office door but stopped in her tracks when she saw her brother practically making out with her boss. "Sorry." Slowly backing out of the room she was going to leave them alone.

Paul sensed the door opening but didn't really care enough to pull away from the kiss as they should have knocked first but when he heard his sister's voice he groaned in to the kiss and slowly pulled away, that woman was ruining all of his fun. "What do you want?"

"It isn't even your office."

"You didn't even knock on the door." Poking his tongue out at his sister he reluctantly stood up letting his hands drop from his girlfriend's side.

Not wanting World War 3 to start between the siblings Stephanie quickly stepped in, "So how can I help Lynn?"

"You squealed, I panicked and thought something was wrong so came to check up on you." It was weird catching them making out but it made her happy to see that the two of them had patched things up and were back to being very much in love.

"He was tickling me because I called him an old man."

Never one to pass up an opportunity to tease her brother Lynn couldn't help but smirk, "It's the truth isn't it?"

"Ugh, you two are the worst." His eye caught the clock on the laptop screen and realised it was getting on so needed to head out if he planned to be able to get dinner with Stephanie tonight, "Do you still want to do dinner?"

"Sure, if you think that you'll have time."

Screw having time, he would make it for her to prove to her that he was serious about this. "I will always have time for you. What time and where?"

She had said hers before and she thought that she would stick with that because she wanted to see how far he would go with her as she was beginning to crave his touch again. "Mine, come by about 7."

"Deal. I will see you tonight." He couldn't resist bending down to give her a quick kiss before he picked up his bag and dropped a sandwich on her desk and then headed for the door pausing to kiss his sister on the cheek before he left, "Sorry for scaring you."

"It's okay." She watched her brother leave before she turned back to her boss, "Sooooo."

"Soooo?" She wasn't keen on vagueness and would fire her secretary for it if she could get away with it to prove a point.

"You two seem to be back on track, I'm happy for you."

She couldn't hide her smile, they were better than back on track and she loved it. "We are. I'm so happy that he has moved here and not because I don't trust him in California but because he is so close to me here and I can spend time with him and neither of us have to take crazy plane rides just to get a few hours or days together. For the most part we talked it all out last night so tonight I am just looking forward to being with him."

"I see how it is." She didn't need to know about her brother's sex life but Stephanie was happy again so she could let that slide.

"Not like that, well maybe." She knew that it would be weird to talk to her boyfriend's sister about their sex life so she didn't say exactly what was on her mind.

"Girl you are more confused than I am after I take notes for your meetings with your Dad. If you want to just spit it out then be my guest, just please don't confuse me."

If she took the fact that she was in a relationship with her brother out of the equation then maybe it wouldn't be weird to ask this. "Not being specific about my relationship but how soon is too soon to have sex? What if you were with somebody for a second time and you'd been back together for a few weeks and not gone there would you make the move?"

"If that is what I wanted then sure. If it was going to be our first time then in your circumstances I'd say no, wait a little longer as jumping in to sex is not going to fix the relationship if there are any issues remaining but if it wouldn't be your first time together then I don't see an issue in making the move to be honest. Why should sex always be about what the man wants and when he wants it? Why can't the women take control and say 'I want it, do you?' to their man. Why do you ask?"

Although she had taken her actual relationship out of the picture for the question it felt like she was going to put the relationship back in to the question which would make it weird and she didn't want that.

"As long as you're not giving me actual details you can talk about my brother you know, I don't mind."

"I just, it's just . . . it's just when he was here just then it was like I really wanted him but I don't want to lose him as we only just sorted things out last night."

Her boss must be crazy if she even thought that losing him was a remote possibility. "Trust me Steph; he adores you far too much to walk away because you made a move on him. Do you, be happy, just make yourself happy and if you want to make a move on him tonight make a move, you never know he may want it to but is too afraid to make a move for the same reasons that you are. I'd better go and get us lunch so what would else would you like as it appears you already have a sandwich courtesy of my brother in his new job as a food courier?"

After giving her order for lunch Stephanie sat back in her chair, maybe she was right? Maybe she should just bite the bullet and see what happened, it would beat wondering and being sexually frustrated.


	36. Chapter 36

Happy Birthday **Olivia** , enjoy this and your birthday :)

* * *

Once he left the office Paul went back to his hotel and sat down at his laptop with his sandwich to eat and work whilst he was in the mood for it.

After a couple of hours of working hard he got up and put his laptop away to do more unpacking to make his room more homely before he jumped in the shower to clean himself up and make sure that he smelt good before his date with his girlfriend.

* * *

Although she had got in to work late Stephanie made sure to leave a little early because she really wanted everything to be perfect for her date with Paul tonight.

The first thing she did when she got home was make a start on dinner and then whilst that was cooking she went to shower and get dressed.

* * *

He was trying so hard to not arrive early but he tried to make excuses to himself that the reason he was leaving half an hour before he should actually need to leave was to avoid traffic but he knew deep down that it wasn't, he just couldn't wait to see her.

Knocking on her door a lot closer to 6:30 than 7 he hoped that she didn't mind him coming by early. When she opened the door dressed only in a towel with her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun he felt guilty for turning up so early, "I'm sorry that I'm so early."

"It's okay." Although he had been apologising to her for arriving early she couldn't help but notice the way that his eyes were roving up and down her body, "See something you like?"

And now he really did feel like he needed to apologise but he wasn't entirely sure how to apologise without sounding like he didn't fancy her. "Honestly? I see a lot I like. If I wouldn't get a slap for it I would happily show you how much I like what I see."

She couldn't help but bite down on her lip as she took a step back, "Why don't you hold my hands so I can't slap you as you show me?" Where had that come from?

As much as he wanted to take what she said at face value and believe that she truly meant it he was not ready to push his luck and ruin the night before it had even begun, Paul entered the house and shut the door behind him. The stare between the two of them was intense, she was watching his every move and he was simply finding it hard to take his eyes off her. He closed the distance slowly allowing her to walk away if she wanted but when she didn't he placed his hands on her waist before he leant in and pressed his lips against hers allowing his emotions to flow in to the kiss.

The emotion in the kiss sent a tingle down her spine and stole her breath away which was the perfect opportunity for him to deepen the kiss and he did but almost as soon as he had deepened the kiss did he pull away.

It would be so easy to take advantage of her but he found himself wanting to slow things down a little tonight and not get himself kicked out before they even sat down to dinner. The word 'sorry' was on the tip of his tongue but when he saw the look on her face which told him that that word was the last word he should say right now he pushed it back and settled on explaining himself. "It would have been so easy and so nice to keep kissing you but I thought that I would maybe leave you wanting more so that you didn't kick me out yet as you had your fill of kisses."

After lunch time and now this she wasn't sure that she could survive the rest of the evening around him. "Is that the only reason that you stopped kissing me?"

Truthfully no it wasn't the only reason but it was the only reason he was willing to share because he was trying to block the other reason from his brain so that he didn't make a really stupid mistake. "Well there is the fact that you have clearly put dinner on to cook and I don't want it to burn because I am too busy being selfish and kissing you."

"So you want to kiss me after dinner?"

Feeling a little awkward he nodded his head, she was either mad or inquisitive. "Well yes, only if you want to though. I'm not saying that I'm staying for dinner just so that I can kiss you but it will be a nice bonus to the time that I will get to spend with you as we have been apart for what feels like ages."

A light blush stained her cheeks at the way that he spoke about her but she wasn't going to reveal to him that she wanted to do a lot more than kissing just yet. "I will go and get dressed so why don't you make yourself comfortable."

"Do you have to? I am more than happy for you to stay like that."

The wicked gleam in his eye had her playful glare turning in to a half glare and half grin, "I am sure that you would be but I want to be able to cook and not worry that my clothes will fall off."

He didn't want to push his luck so he playfully zipped his lips shut allowing her to go and get dressed.

* * *

Stood in front of her closet Stephanie was so undecided on what to wear, did she dress down and wear jeans or did she dress up and wear a dress? Flicking through her closet she finally settled on a red dress that had a low back and a low front, she hadn't worn it before but only because she hadn't found the right man that she wanted to look at her like he wanted to rip it off her.

* * *

Paul was bored whilst he waited for her to get dressed and come down so he was currently in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of water as he wasn't sure that he wanted to drink as he wasn't sure what he would do if he was a little buzzed from alcohol. Eventually hearing the sound of his girlfriend walking towards him he turned to the door and was surprised by what he saw in front of him.

Nervously descending the stairs she went to get a drink for courage from the kitchen before she joined her boyfriend in the lounge, she was not expecting to see him in the kitchen so when she entered the room and saw the look on her face she blushed furiously; his eyes were nearly out of his head. "Too much?"

Too much? Was she out of her mind? He had no words to possibly describe to her how beautiful he thought that she looked. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he searched for the words to accurately describe what he was thinking but he had nothing.

"I'm sorry, I will change." The last thing she had wanted to do was make him uncomfortable and it seemed like she had succeeded in a spectacular fashion.

Before she could leave the room he scrambled to grab hold of her arm, "Wait." He kept his grip on her arm with his one hand and slipped his other arm around her waist pulling her back in to him so that he could rest his chin on her shoulder, "You look incredible Stephanie, I just didn't know what to say." Paul refused to look down as he held her close because he knew that he would see right down her dress and probably lose all control.

Tilting her head back she noticed the way his eyes moved from the wall in front of them to her face once she looked at him, "Really? So you don't mind if I wear this dress?"

"Not unless you will mind if I kind of stare at you. You look stunning; I don't think that I will be able to keep my eyes off you dressed like that."

She liked his honesty; she liked hearing him say that he wasn't sure if he could keep his eyes off her. "I don't mind as long as you don't stray in to creepy old man territory."

Dropping his grip on her arm and moving his arm from around her waist he walked around to stand in front of her so that he could stare in to her eyes, "I will try my best I promise. I love you Steph."

"I love you too." She pressed a soft kiss to his lips before she pulled away to check on dinner.

* * *

Nothing more was mentioned about her outfit whilst she cooked dinner and they actually relaxed into a comfortable conversation and worked well together to get it finished and dished up before they sat down to eat together.

After he had finished eating Paul stood up to tidy the plates away.

"Stop that, I will do it as it is my house."

"No you won't. You cooked dinner so it is my turn to do some work and I will do the dishes. Sit down and relax whilst I do this and then I will join you." Carefully stacking the dishes he prepared to take them all to the kitchen but stopped when she gripped his arm, "Yes?"

"Leave the dishes." There was something different about this evening and she just wanted to spend time with him. "They aren't going anywhere, if you are really that bothered by them then you can do them in the morning but can we please just spend tonight together?"

When she asked so nicely and proposed something that was so appealing he couldn't possibly say no to her. "Sure, just give me a minute to put them tidy and I will join you in your preferred room." He cringed as soon as he had finished talking, he didn't mean it quite how it could be interpreted but hopefully she didn't take it the wrong way.

The bedroom was her preferred room but she wasn't just going to propose that just yet. "I will meet you in the lounge." Sliding out of her seat she kissed his cheek before she left him to handle the dishes.

* * *

It only took Paul a couple of minutes to clean the dishes and put ones that could go in the dishwasher away and the rest neatly stacked on the side. Pouring them both a glass of wine once he was done he carried them through to the lounge.

* * *

Stephanie closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the sofa whilst she waited for him to join her. Tonight had been such a pleasant evening and it was almost like nothing had ever gone wrong between the two of them, they had slipped back in to being a loving couple so easily that it made her wonder if there was more to their relationship than she even realised.

Quietly entering the room he kissed her forehead as he passed the back of the couch before he placed the glasses of wine on the coffee table. "Are you tired?"

"No." She raised her head to look at him with a small smile on her face, "I was just relaxing whilst I waited for you and thinking about how easily we have slipped back in to being a loving couple, there is nothing awkward between us at all. Well I don't think there is anything awkward anyway."

"I don't think there is anything awkward either." Paul sat down beside his girlfriend and was unable to stop himself from smiling at the way that she immediately moved to lean against him, "I agree with you though, but I love it. I have missed you so much whilst we have been apart so being here and fixing things and just getting back together and being so . . . relaxed together makes me happy."

As she leaned against him a little more she pulled her legs up to tuck beneath her, "I am glad that you are happy." Sliding her hand across his stomach she rested it on his far side and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Close enough?" The words were out of his mouth before he thought them through so as soon as he registered what he had said he silently said a prayer that she wasn't going to be mad about it.

Was he serious? She wasn't sure if it was a genuine question, a sarcastic question or a question that was leading somewhere. "In what way?"

"Well you just seem to be as close to my side as you can possibly manage so I was teasing you to see if you wanted to be any closer as it doesn't seem like you possibly could get any closer."

There was one way that they could get closer and she really wanted to get that close to him. Without saying a word she leant up and pressed a kiss to his lips to see if he would respond to it.

Paul would never deny that he was a sucker for his girlfriend's kisses so when she kissed him he wasn't really that interested in teasing her about being close any more, he was more interested in drawing her even closer to him. Tilting his head a little to deepen the kiss his hand found its way to her thigh and he slid it higher up her leg to pull her to straddle his legs. He didn't realise his hand was beneath her skirt until she gasped in to his mouth as he palmed her bare ass but yet she wasn't pulling his hand away.

She knew that she should remove his hand but this was what she wanted so she just went along with it in her own by rubbing his chest with her hands.

To begin with it was easy to maintain control over his body but when their kisses got deeper and his hand began to massage her bare ass as her hands rubbed his chest was too much and he had to rip his mouth free, "We should stop." Short of breath he was panting a little as he tried to keep his body under control but as he looked at his girlfriend's face there was a flash of hurt which made him feel guilty.

He wanted to stop; maybe he wasn't as ready to take their relationship further as she was. "I'm sorry." She tried to not look disappointed, he was still here and he hadn't indicated that he was leaving so at least she had that.

The second that she tried to move he grabbed hold of her hips to stop her, he probably should let her move but he just didn't want her to be mad at him so he just wasn't thinking. "We're cool right? Maybe we could pick back up where we left off in a minute . . . once I've cooled down."

She watched as his eyes widened and he looked a little panicked, "Are you okay?"

"I didn't mean to say that last bit out loud." The look on her face told him that he may want to reconsider that last sentence.

"What did you mean by it then? Are you mad at me for going too far?" She had a feeling that she knew what he meant but she had to be certain so that she didn't make a fool of herself.

Absently his thumb started to rub her hips as he maintained his hold on her. "I'm mad at myself for letting it go that far. The last thing I want to do right now is push you further than you are ready to go and I got caught up in kissing you that I almost pushed you further, if you know what I mean. Steph I love you and I am happy to go at your pace and I don't ever plan to push you or make you feel like I am mad at you so I'm sorry for tonight."

"Did it cross your mind that maybe I was doing the pushing and not you?"

It honestly hadn't crossed his mind that she was behind it all, he was so wrapped up in beating himself up for getting so caught up in the kiss he almost took things further and in trying to cool his body down he didn't even begin to consider that.

His silence told her that the answer was no, it didn't surprise her but she wished that he had considered her feelings. "As you are admitting to already being heated up I may aswell be truthful with you. The reason that I have worn this dress is because I was hoping to seduce you."

"You wanted to seduce me huh?" If she wanted to seduce him then he would be more than happy for her to go through with it. Reaching for the bottom of his shirt he untucked it from his pants as he leant forward a little in his seat before he pulled it over his head and dropped it to the side of him, "Does this help?"

Stephanie couldn't help but bite down on her lip as she stared at her half naked boyfriend right in front of her, "What are you doing?"

"You want to seduce me, I want to be seduced, I'm just making it easier on you. Steph I want this as much as you do." With a fire in his eyes he leant back on the couch reaching to brush her hair behind her shoulders before he gripped the shoulder straps to her dress and pulled them to the edge of her shoulders, they could easily be shrugged down but he wasn't going to take that final step.

Sitting there like a statue whilst he removed his shirt and played with the straps on her dress her stomach was doing somersaults, he wanted her as much as she wanted him. When he stopped short of actually pulling her dress down she couldn't stop her eyebrow raising, "Are you getting shy on me?"

"You wish." Still chuckling at the thought that he was getting shy he reached for the straps again, "I was just giving you the opportunity to tell me that I had completely gotten the wrong end of the stick."

Pulling her arms in closer to her body and lifting her shoulders in a shrug she allowed the straps to fall down her arms exposing most of her breasts to his eyes, "Depends, if you got the end of the stick that would require me out of this dress then I would say that we both have the same end of the stick."

There was no longer any denying that this evening was going to be taking them to bed really soon and he liked it a lot. He pulled the straps even further down her arms licking his lips when she removed her arms from them completely, "I love you."

Sliding her hands up his bare chest to behind his neck she leant closer until they were bare chest to bare chest whimpering as it sent shivers down her spine, "I love you too." When her lips touched his it was like a million tiny explosions went off in her body, this kiss was so different to the one just a few minutes ago, she had never felt anything like it and she couldn't get enough of it.

Their kiss quickly deepened and they soon realised that they weren't going to make it to the bed, their first time together was going to be right here on the couch but it didn't bother either of them, they just kept kissing and touching each other.


	37. Chapter 37

When she woke up the next morning she was pleased to feel that her boyfriend's body was still beneath her head. Raising her head to look at the clock and seeing that it was nearly nine so she was relieved that it was Saturday and she didn't have work. Paul was still fast asleep so she rested her head back on his chest and thought back to her Friday night, they had made fast animalistic sex on the couch before eventually making their way up to her bedroom and then they made slow passionate love eventually falling asleep wrapped up together.

Stephanie rolled off her boyfriend's chest and reached to check her phone that she had left beside the bed when she was getting ready for dinner last night. Apparently her brother had sent her a text last night so after reading that she was tapping out a quick reply to him when she felt a pair of soft lips kissing her bare shoulder, "Good morning."

"G'morning. Sleep well?" He slipped his arm around his girlfriend's waist and pulled her back against his chest pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek.

His lips felt so good against her skin and she liked being in his arms again, there was something incredibly comforting about the way that he held her. Quickly losing interest in her phone she dropped it to the bed so that she could turn around and push her boyfriend back on to his back hovering over him, "I slept very well thank you. How about yourself?"

"Yeah, good." Licking his lips as he looked up at her he was trying so hard to form a coherent sentence because his mind immediately went back to last night and the memories of how good she looked above him.

The fact that her boyfriend was struggling to maintain eye contact made her smile, "What's wrong Paul? If you didn't sleep well then you don't need to say that you did, I won't hold it against you."

Hands palming her hips he couldn't help but smile at her, "Far from it. I slept really well with you in my arms and after our _activities_ last night, I am just struggling to be polite and not hit on you immediately because I don't want you to think that now we have gone that far I expect it all of the time."

Like it mattered to her if they had sex all of the time, she wanted him last night and she most certainly still wanted him this morning. Leaning down she pressed a soft lingering kiss to his lips before she rested her forehead on his, "It's funny but I was going to say that exact same thing to you."

Paul slipped his leg between his girlfriend's bending it to rub his thigh against her pussy loving the way that her mouth dropped open and a moan left her lips, "If we are thinking the same thing then I assume that you don't have a problem with me doing this?"

She bent her knees a little further to get more pressure on the place she needed it the most, "No problem at all." Allowing her boyfriend's leg to tease her she pressed her lips against his and melted in to his touch and his kisses.

Lost in her boyfriend's touch she was quickly getting hotter and was more desperate for his touch. The room was silent apart from their moans until suddenly the sound of her cell phone ringing broke through the silence drawing her attention briefly away from her boyfriend.

The moan that left Paul's lips when she pulled away was one of frustration but he still felt guilty for allowing his frustration to show, "If you need to get that you should."

"Paul . . ." She didn't want to get the call but she did want to know who it was. Shooting him an apologetic look she looked at the screen and frowned, what the hell was Emily doing calling her so early on a Saturday morning?

He could see the tension in her face and the way that she was torn between the two. "So who is it?"

"Emily. I want to know what she wants, I also want you."

He didn't plan on going anywhere so collapsed back on to the bed, "As long as you aren't on the phone for an hour then take it."

By now the phone had stopped ringing but she could call her back, "I love you handsome. I promise that I will make it a really quick call so that I can get back to focussing entirely on you." She fell on to her side on the bed facing her boyfriend as she scrolled through her contacts looking for Emily's number.

"Steph, I just called you."

"No shit Sherlock." Giggling softly she took hold of her boyfriend's hand and played with his fingers, "I just missed your call so thought I would call you back immediately to see what it is that you want."

"I haven't heard from you all week and I wondered if you were coming to Scott's dinner tonight? I have to confirm the numbers with the restaurant."

Fuck, she had completely forgotten about it being Scott's birthday and how Emily had organised that all of them were going to go out to dinner together. "Uh, hang on." Quickly putting the call on mute she had a question to ask of her boyfriend, "It's Scott's birthday dinner tonight, I forgot to confirm with Emily if I was going or not. I don't know what to do."

Scott was one of his best friends and although he didn't know he had moved here it would be a good opportunity for him to tell everybody. "We could both go. I could come with you as a surprise."

"Are you sure you want to reveal to everybody for certain that we are together? I know we kind of hinted at it but nobody knows anything more than that."

"I'm sure if you're sure." He wasn't sure if she was sure, he had to tell people he had moved here though, "Maybe if you're not comfortable outing us to them then I can just come as a friend."

He was too cute for words. "I love you. Be quiet whilst I tell her, I think you'll be an amazing birthday gift for Scott." Once she was satisfied that he was going to be quiet she took the phone off mute, "Sorry about that, I couldn't remember when I was supposed to be having dinner with my family. I am free tonight, I will come. Where is it?"

Emily had been convinced that she was going to say no so she was actually surprised when she said yes, "Awesome, I will text you the details. It is going to be Scott, myself, Sasha and her fiancé and then Sean is apparently going to be bringing his girlfriend also, nobody knows much about her other than they have been together for a few months so it should be interesting. I look forward to seeing you later."

"Bye Ems."

* * *

As soon as she ended the call Emily stared at her phone, her friend was acting really strange.

"Everything okay baby?"

"Steph's coming tonight."

Staring at his wife like she had lost her mind he took a seat beside her, "Isn't that why we invited her? I mean because we wanted her to come."

"Well yeah but even when I basically said that everybody else will be coupled up she didn't blink, she had no problem with it at all. I know that she was hanging out with Paul a few weeks ago but neither of them have indicated that things were anything more than just putting the past behind them."

"Maybe putting the past behind them is what she needed to move on and be happy again? Maybe she has started dating again so doesn't even care that she will be a gooseberry to us all. Who really cares though? It will be nice for us all to be together again but it is a shame that Paul still lives in California and can't join us."

"One day we will all hang out together again, I don't know when but it will happen before you die old man."

It wasn't quite his birthday yet so he didn't have that to use as an excuse as to why she should be nice to him but he still shook his head at her, "There is like three months between us, I'm not that much older than you are."

Cuddling up to her husband she wrapped her arms around him, "I'm sorry . . . old man."

* * *

Placing her phone back on the bedside table Stephanie rolled over to come face-to-face with her boyfriend again, "So where exactly were we?"

Paul pulled his girlfriend on top of him so that she was straddling his one leg again allowing him to bend his knee to rub against her, "Somewhere right about here but it's okay if the moment has passed."

With her hands braced either side of her boyfriend's body she rocked her hips back and forth against his leg, "I'm definitely still in the moment if you are."

A groan fell from his lips as wetness began to coat his thigh at her movements, "Fuck yes I am." Fisting his hand in her hair he roughly yanked her head down so that he could mesh their lips together in a rough but passionate kiss.

* * *

Collapsed on top of her boyfriend's body Stephanie was struggling to breathe and move, all of her limbs felt like jelly. "Well I have been well and truly fucked."

"You say that like it is a bad thing."

She would move to look up at him if she actually had the strength in her limbs to do so. "It isn't a bad thing but I would really like to have the strength to move by lunchtime."

Raising his head he kissed the top of her head and trailed his hand up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion, "I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to make you so uncomfortable."

"I am not uncomfortable; I just don't have the energy to move an inch. I don't mind not being able to move as you are really comfortable and I enjoy being close to you but by lunchtime I am going to be really hungry."

"You and me both. Before we go to dinner tonight I have to go back to the hotel to change so I don't mind if you kick me out when you are bored of my company and then we meet up at the restaurant tonight."

How could he possibly imply that she would ever be bored of him? She would probably be bored without him as she really was enjoying spending time with him and didn't want them to part but she also didn't want to be a clingy girlfriend and they needed space as they had only just gotten back together and now sorted things out after their first big problem so the last thing that she wanted to do was make him stay. "You could leave after lunch? Unless you want to leave sooner?"

"I really don't Steph, I am enjoying this."

"Good answer." Pressing a kiss to his chest she closed her eyes and held him close.

* * *

It was just after seven when Stephanie arrived at the restaurant, she hadn't expected it to take so long to get across town but she managed to get there in the end. As she climbed out of her car she spotted her boyfriend getting out of his, after locking her car she closed the distance between them and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "You look very nice."

Pulling back from the kiss he took a moment to admire his girlfriend's outfit, she had a beautiful navy dress that came to mid-thigh and had a lace detailing along the hem and around the neckline and she had it paired with a leather jacket and a simple necklace that looked oddly familiar. His hand lifted to raise the necklace to look at it closer which is when he noticed that the necklace was familiar because it was the necklace that he had given her, "I can't believe that you still have this."

"Of course I still have it, I have never taken it off but you just haven't seen it." She wasn't entirely sure why she said all of that but luckily he didn't seem phased.

Hearing her say that she hadn't stopped wearing it made him feel good and he didn't expect it. "I honestly expected you to throw it out so that has surprised me but in the best way possible. Shall we go in and do some more surprising?"

A soft smile adorned her face as she took his hand leading him to the front door where he stayed just outside as she made her way inside. "Hi, I'm here with the party under the name Hall."

"Ah yes, they have been waiting for you, follow me."

As she followed the waiter inside the dining room she was petrified but her fears melted away when she heard a chorus of people calling her name, "Shh, you will disturb everybody."

"Pfft, like I care. We haven't seen you in forever." Sasha just glared back at the waiter who glared at her, "What? We will be quiet now."

Everybody around the table laughed at Sasha's antics as almost everybody took their turn hugging Stephanie and telling her how good it was to see her.

Once she had been hugged by all of her friends Stephanie bit down on her lip, it was now or never. "So before I sit down, I wondered if it was okay if I brought my boyfriend along? He is just outside and doesn't mind if he can't stay, I just decided last minute that maybe tonight was the right time."

Scott, Emily, Sasha and Sean all exchanged confused looks as they had been convinced that there was a chance for Stephanie and Paul to reconcile, they had also never heard her mention a boyfriend before let alone be serious enough about him for them to meet him. "Is that why there is an eighth placing?"

"Yes, I asked them to tentatively set one hoping that you would be okay with this." As she stared at one of her closest friends she tried to work out what she was thinking but couldn't see anything.

Being his birthday celebration Scott decided to be the first one to speak up, "I have no problem with it, unless he is an asshole and then he is out because it is my birthday and I don't want drama."

"I promise he will be on his best behaviour if you all agree." Taking a quick look around the table she took note of all of the nods, "I will be back now." She scurried away from the table as fast as she could; her chest was so tight it felt like she couldn't breathe so she was grateful of the fresh air that hit her face as she stepped outside.

"What did they say?" His girlfriend had gone awfully pale so Paul couldn't help but be concerned about what had happened.

Both of her hands took hold of his tightly, "They have no problem with my boyfriend joining us. Are you ready to do this?"

"I am always ready around you." It was only once he had finished speaking did he realise the double meaning to that but luckily for him his girlfriend hadn't as she began to pull him inside.

It was only a short walk from the entrance to the table; she spotted everyone talking amongst themselves at the table as they waited for her so it allowed them to creep up to the table without being noticed. Stood beside the table she kept a tight grip on her boyfriend's hand, "Everybody I would love you to meet my boyfriend, his name is Paul."

"Paul?" Everybody thought the coincidence of names was funny but that was before they actually turned around, when they did turn around they were so excited to see their best friend that they didn't hear the tuts of disgust from the people around them.

He couldn't help but smile as the girls attacked him with hugs, "Did you miss me?"

Sasha slapped his arm, "How could you not tell us you were visiting for the weekend?"

"Who said I was visiting for the weekend?" Leaving that hanging in the air he moved to shake Sean and Scott's hands, "Happy Birthday man."

Scott had listened to what his friend had said to the girls so as he embraced him he whispered, "Moved here?"

Giving one of his best friends he gave him a knowing smirk but stayed silent and moved to embrace Sean. Once he had embraced everybody he went to sit down but noticed that the people around them were giving him dirty looks he decided to try and smooth things over with them all. "I'm sorry about that. I have been living in California for over six years so nobody expected me to be here tonight." That seemed to soften their mood so now he could sit down and enjoy spending time with his friends, "So what have I missed?"

"What have **you** missed? I think you mean what have **we** missed? Last time I checked you were living in California and were single."

"This is your birthday dinner, it isn't about me." Secretly reaching beneath the table he took his girlfriend's hand in his and squeezed it gently.

It felt good to Stephanie to be surrounded by her friends and with her boyfriend, this right here for her was everything and she wouldn't change it. When Paul took hold of her hand squeezing it gently she couldn't help but blush a little and smile softly, he really knew how to make her feel special.

It was Scott's birthday dinner and as it was all about his birthday then he planned to play on it. "Excuse me, birthday boy here. I want to know what is going on so stop trying to wriggle out of it."

"Okay fine. I moved over here about two days ago as we are opening a new office the week after next. I would have told you but it was a very rushed move so it was the last thing on my mind. Mainly I am here for Stephanie, work is just a bonus."

"Awww." All of the women melted whilst the men pretended to gag, "Yuck."

"Enough. We will catch up in the week so can we tonight focus on the birthday boy please?" He just wanted to get the focus off of himself, he was helped by the waiter appearing to take their orders but from that point on they all relaxed and had a nice evening together, their first as a group since before he moved to California in College.


	38. Chapter 38

After dinner everybody made their way out of the restaurant and was gathered in the car park as the girls tried to grill Stephanie for information and she tried to brush them off so that she could talk to her boyfriend and see what he wanted to do all of the boys gathered around Paul. "Sooo, what's the truth with your job?"

"The truth is what I told you. I ended up coming over here to do some work and then things were going really well so they decided to open up an office here as one of the bosses wanted to move back this side of the country also and they gave me the opportunity to come with him to set it up after I said I wanted to move back here if they ever opened an office here."

Sean was still more surprised that he was back with Stephanie than he was that his friend had moved back to the east coast as he had been predicting that since he left as he was too much of home body. "If it wasn't for Stephanie would you have been so eager to move back here? I'm smart enough to realise that the move came after your little reunion."

"Honestly yes, I missed my family, I missed you guys. I have been so out of the loop being all the way out in Cali when all of you are here and can meet up regularly and whenever you like and for me it is like a military operation just to be able to spend a few short days with my family. I have been casually looking for a job back here for a couple of years but there has never really been anything that appealed to me so I have just stuck it out so this move just came at the perfect time for me."

Emily was certainly going to be pleased with Scott for getting information out of Paul that she probably wouldn't know if it wasn't for him so it had to guarantee him at least a couple of days out of the dog house. "But reconnecting with Stephanie is a bonus?"

Glancing over at his girlfriend he couldn't help but smile, "Reconnecting with Stephanie is a massive bonus. My life has been missing something ever since I lost her so finding her again, reconnecting and moving back here has just put that final puzzle piece in to the puzzle of my life. I'm not saying that I'm going to ask her to marry me tomorrow, I just know that now everything feels right and like it should be."

The conversation abruptly ended as the women dispersed as Paul did not want any of the women to get the wrong end of the stick.

* * *

It didn't bother Stephanie when her boyfriend stopped talking as she walked closer, she assumed they were discussing work and they didn't want to get told off by their other half's. "Night guys." She wasn't really paying attention to their responses as she had zoned in on her boyfriend and had taken hold of his fingers and was slowly leading him away from everybody.

"Where are you taking me?" He wasn't really bothered but he did have a rental car that the office had arranged for him and he had to take it with him.

"I am taking you away from them so that we can say goodbye in private."

Goodbye? Oh, he had hoped that maybe she wanted to spend some more time with him as it was the weekend and she didn't have to work.

The way that his face fell made her feel bad, she didn't want to leave him but she didn't want to smother him. "Unless you wanted to do something else, just the two of us?"

'Just the two of us' were his favourite words and music to his ears, "So you don't want rid of me?"

"Rid of you? Don't be stupid." For that comment she dropped his hand before she gripped the collar of his shirt with her hands and pulled him closer to her pressing a gentle kiss to his lips raising a smile out of her boyfriend as she pulled back.

"You really can stick around if I can get more of those." Avoiding her hand as she playfully went to slap his arm he grabbed it before she dropped it to her side and used it to pull her closer to him, "You can even stick around if I don't get more of them but only if we snuggle."

She slid her arms around her boyfriend's body holding on to his shoulders whilst she rested her head on his chest, "I can certainly be convinced to do one or both of the things that you mentioned." Nothing was said for a brief moment whilst she enjoyed being help by him, "So my place or yours?"

He was paying for a hotel room and so far it didn't feel like he was getting much use out of it so he felt like he had his answer, "Mine?"

"Sure, I don't mind that at all. I will meet you back at yours in a bit." Before she left him she placed a final kiss to his lips before slowly pulling away and out of his arms and going back to her car.

He waited until she was safely in her car before he climbed in to his own car and made his way back to the hotel.

* * *

On the drive to his hotel her phone beeped a few times but she didn't pay any attention to it, her attention was split between being on the road and thinking about how excited everybody had been to see Paul tonight. Part of her honestly thought that none of them would be happy to see them together as a couple again so having so much support made her feel amazing about her relationship.

It took her a moment to find somewhere to park as she wasn't actually staying at the hotel but when she walked in to the lobby she couldn't help but grin at the way her boyfriend was stood there waiting for her, "You really didn't have to wait for me you know, I do know how to find my way to your hotel room."

"I have my reasons for waiting for you." Taking hold of her hand he pulled her towards the elevator pushing the button to go up as he held her close.

She was curious about his reasons for waiting for her but didn't push him because truthfully it didn't matter too much to her why he waited; she just found it sweet that he did. "When do you start work properly? I know you're working from the hotel but I mean actually setting up the new office and everything?"

"A week Monday. I asked for this week off, they just so happened to decide that I have been such a model employee that I could fly out straight away so I have extra time to fix things and now I just am grateful that I get to spend even more time with you without the pressure of actually working." The ding of the elevator doors opening attracted his attention so pulling his girlfriend in to an empty elevator he quickly pressed the button for his floor and prayed that nobody else joined them.

Her brain was slightly distracted by the way that he had worded it because it made her feel like he genuinely wanted to spend as much time with her as he possibly could and that was exactly what she wanted too. She had missed out on far too much time with him and she was going to attempt to use all of the free time they had to catch up on that time. Blindly following him on to the elevator she leant against the railing and watched the doors close leaving the two of them alone again. When her boyfriend turned around to face her she noticed a predatory look in Paul's eyes as he closed the small distance between them.

Placing his hands on the railing either side of her body he knew that their journey wasn't going to last forever so he took his chances and pressed his lips against hers in a kiss that was surprisingly quickly returned. His hands found their way behind her back pulling her away from the railings and closer to his body as he deepened the kiss.

Stephanie moaned in to her boyfriend's mouth as his hands slid to her ass squeezing it gently and pulled her impossibly closer to him, she wanted him so much right now. Her hands were on his chest slowly stroking up and down when suddenly the elevator jolted and it came to a stop at a floor, it was only at this point that she was able to breathe as he stepped back to see where they were quickly grabbing her hands and pulling her along with him at which point she promptly fell over her own feet and only barely caught herself before she ended up sprawled across the floor like some uncoordinated baby deer.

The walk to his room felt like a mile long but in actual fact it was only a few metres and soon they were safely behind closed doors. "Soooo."

She couldn't help but giggle at his reaction, "Soooo what?" Shrugging off her jacket as she walked towards the bed tossing it on top of his case on the floor.

Her back was to him briefly and he took that as an opportunity to step behind her slide his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, "Sooo I think we should pick up where we left off in the elevator."

Her eyes slid closed as she leant back against him, "And what if I didn't want to pick up where we left off?"

"Then we can snuggle in bed, hopefully. I don't really care what we do; I just want to be with you." Pressing a kiss to her cheek he didn't want to release her and move to sit on the bed as he was pretty sure if he moved then she was going to fall to the floor as she felt quite limp in his arms so he stayed where he was and enjoyed the moment where he just got to hold her.

There was no better feeling than that of her boyfriend's arms tightly around her waist and his chest against her back, it was so comforting but she wasn't looking for comfort, she was looking for passion. Lightly gripping his wrists she was a little surprised at the ease at which she was able to move his hands but it suited her as it made her next move easy, moving his arms up her body she placed his hands back against her body but this time against her breasts, once she did she had to bite her lip to stop from moaning, she hadn't realised how hot he had made her in the elevator.

Her hands on his wrists made him believe that she just wanted to cuddle so he was trying to prepare in his head how to not push her too far if she did indeed still stay and cuddled with him in bed. The last thing that he expected was for her to put his hands on her breasts and out of reflex he squeezed them and her reaction was everything to him. "I'm not jumping the gun by suggesting I undo your dress at this point am I?"

"I would be a little concerned if you wanted me to keep it on." His hands on her body were torture that she had brought on herself so it was much needed relief when his hands moved from her breasts to the zip on her dress not hesitating to pull it right down, "Are you going to hurry or go at a snail's pace?"

Rolling his eyes despite the fact that she couldn't see him he rested his chin on her shoulder, "All you had to do was ask nicely and I would be more than happy to oblige for you." His girlfriend was so demanding tonight but yet he found it hot so he moved his chin just slightly and pulled the straps of her dress off her shoulders and used them to begin to pull the dress down past her waist until it could drop to the floor without any help, "Something like that?"

"Uh huh, exactly like that. Now can I turn around please?"

He would love for her to turn around but first he needed to do one thing, sliding his arms around her waist he held her tightly; "I love you so much."

One hand came to rest over his as they rested on her stomach and the other raised to rest on his cheek as his head rested on her shoulder again, "I love you too handsome. So now can I turn around?"

He laughed softly and took hold of the hand on his cheek pulling his hand from beneath hers around her waist and pulled her to the bed, "So where were we?"

* * *

The next morning Paul was woken up by the incessant ringing of a phone and he wanted it to stop. Carefully removing his arms from around his girlfriend he got out of bed just as it stopped ringing but he went to find his phone to see if it was someone, probably his sister, trying to get hold of him.

When her blanket disappeared she became cold which woke her up, rolling over she reached out for Paul and when she couldn't feel him she opened her eyes. The first thing that she saw when she opened her eyes was her boyfriend tiptoeing across the room, "Where are you going?"

Focussed on not waking his girlfriend he jumped and promptly fell over something he had tossed on the floor. Getting up off the floor he dusted himself down as his girlfriend scrambled down to the bottom of the bed to check on him, "I was going to find my phone as I was woken up by a phone ringing."

"Are you okay? You didn't get hurt when I scared you did you?"

Sitting down on the edge of the bed he kissed her cheek, "Only my pride. Did you sleep well?"

"I did." Instinctively she moved to sit properly on the edge of the bed and leant against him, "So do you know whose phone it was that rang?"

"Nope, I didn't get that far. Where is your phone and I will get it for you if it isn't my phone?" He was trying to be a good boyfriend and he didn't want her to miss anything important and then be mad at him about it.

She wasn't sure where her phone was because she couldn't remember where she had dumped her stuff when they got back to the room. "If you can find my bag you'll find my phone, if that helps. You don't have to look though; I will go looking for it."

"Absolutely not." He had plans for this morning and they didn't involve her searching his room, "Why don't you climb back in to bed and I will find your phone anyway so then we can relax in bed for a while and I will order room service so we don't have to leave the room to eat?"

"Sounds good to me." Shuffling back up to the top of the bed she climbed back under the covers so that her boyfriend could spoil her before they got room service. "By the way, if you find a shirt that I can wear once you order breakfast then that would be useful please."

A shirt, their phones, unless he got lucky then he would be spending a lot of time searching the room as there were things everywhere. Relief flooded his body as almost immediately he found his own phone and as he tidied a few items of clothing up he found her bag which held her phone, now just to find a shirt for her to wear. Standing up he dropped the phones on to the bed before walking around the other side to climb back in and as he did so he found his shirt from last night miles away from every other item of clothing, "One shirt for madam."

"Mmhmm." She wasn't bothered by the shirt; she was bothered by the three missed calls from her Mom. She didn't even pay him any attention as he climbed back in to bed as she was dialling her voicemail.

" _Morning Steph. I haven't spoken to you in a few days so wondered if you were still coming to lunch today? Your Dad promises not to work and Shane and Marissa are coming so just let me know. Love you."_

Crap, she had been so caught up in spending time with Paul and enjoying having him around that she forgot that she was meant to be going to lunch with her family today.

"Is everything okay?" He put a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him because it certainly didn't seem it.

Sighing happily it felt good being in his arms and she momentarily forgot her dilemma, skip dinner and spend the rest of her day with Paul or go to dinner and don't see her boyfriend all day? "That was my Mom; she wanted to know if I was coming to dinner with the family today. I completely forgot about it and now I don't know what to do."

"You mean you can't decide whether to go alone or take me with you? It is your choice to make and I will go along with whatever you decide." The look that crossed her face had him doubting his own words, had he just jumped the gun and invited himself to a dinner that she had no intention of him going to? "Maybe you are thinking of something else though, what do I know? I failed mind reading classes."

Why had taking him with her never actually occurred to her? That was the simplest of solutions and it hadn't even entered her head. "Are you mad? You would willingly come to dinner with my family?"

"I have done it before; I will happily do it again. If you don't want me to come though I don't have to, I can stay here and do some work." Doing work on a Sunday was not his idea of fun but he didn't want her to feel bad that he would be stuck here all alone on a Sunday. He wanted to go and see his parents but he would do that in the week when Stephanie was working. "Let me order us breakfast and you can think or whatever it is you need to do, I just really need to eat. Do you have any requests for your breakfast?"

"Pancakes please?" Pancakes were the only thing that was going to make her morning better; there was too much going on in her head for her brain to cope with it.

After ordering their breakfast via room service he settled back in the bed and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist as she leant forward staring at her phone, "Have you sent your Mom a text and told her that you'll be there or should we expect another phone call from her or your brother soon?"

"Why do you care how my Mom feels?"

If he was honest he kind of cared more about eating his breakfast in silence and enjoying his girlfriend's company when she was relaxed and not one big stressed out dog that could bite if he said the wrong thing. "You want to go, you know you do. I understand that you feel like you are caught in the middle between me and them but you really don't need to, there is plenty of time for us to spend time together this week before I really start back at work so just relax about it all."

He made a somewhat surprisingly accurate assumption of what was going on in her head right now. "You're right, I need to relax and just bite the bullet. Do you want to come to lunch with me?"

There was no greater feeling than that of when your girlfriend admitted that you were right but he tried not to look too smug about it. "I would love to."

"That's settled then." Quickly typing out a text to her Mom to let her know that she would be there she then tossed her phone down the bed before she turned around and kissed her boyfriend and rested against his chest until their food arrived.


	39. Chapter 39

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you have a lovely day with your family :)

* * *

After stopping off at her house for her to get changed Stephanie and Paul were now stood in her parent's driveway and she was nervous, "I know that they probably all know that we are back together but this is a huge deal Paul, I don't want to want to justify the fact that we had problems or that we're back on track to them, especially to my brother."

"Then don't, tell him to keep his big nose out of your business. They may be your family but you're an adult now so you don't have to justify any of your decisions to them." He felt bad that she was stressing out so much so he was just trying to get her to relax a little, he wasn't sure that he was succeeding though.

He had a point, her decisions were her decisions and if they didn't like them, well that was just tough because she didn't have to answer to them or anybody else, all she needed was to be happy with her life and her choices end of story. "And that is why I love you."

Completely baffled by her comment he didn't even return the kiss that she pressed to his lips before he began to pull him the short distance to the door.

* * *

When the doorbell rang Linda was fast to leave the lounge to answer it, her daughter was being weird and evasive so she was eager to get to the bottom of it all. Pulling open the door she was surprised to see Stephanie stood there with Paul, the last that she had heard was that the two of them were on the outs and not getting on because he had been ignoring her. "Hello you two. It is so good to see you Paul."

"It's good to see you too Linda. I hope that you don't mind me coming along."

She reached for his arm and pulled him inside, "Of course I don't, it is always nice to see you when you are on a visit."

He opened his mouth to reply but quickly shut it again, he thought that Vince would have told her but if he hadn't and Stephanie hadn't maybe they just didn't want the entire family knowing that he was staying here for good. "Thank you, you are too kind."

She followed her boyfriend in to her parent's home confused as to why her Father hadn't told her Mom about Paul moving here, she was sure that he had which is why she hadn't said anything to her earlier. "It's good to see you too Mom." As she had been ignored she chose to poke a little fun at her Mom as it was always fun when she watched her flailing about with guilt because she had forgotten her.

Instantly dropping her grip on Paul's arm she moved over to her daughter and hugged her tightly, "I'm so sorry. If you didn't spring these things on me I wouldn't be so surprised and looking for the details from him."

"Always my fault, charming. Maybe we should just leave?"

Smacking her daughter on the arm as she pulled back she pointed towards the lounge, "Just get your ass inside and go and see your brother."

She never had any intention of leaving anyway but mock saluting her Mom she reached for her boyfriend's hand, "Come on."

When she slipped her fingers through his he pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to the side of her head, "Play nice."

"I am on my best behaviour, can't you tell?" She squeezed his hand gently happy that he was here with her.

They walked in to the lounge and her Dad immediately stood up to greet them both, she wouldn't be so happy right now if it wasn't for her Dad kicking her up the ass so when he hugged her she pressed a kiss to his cheek and simply said 'thank you' to him.

* * *

Stephanie and Paul had left it quite late to arrive so soon after they arrived lunch was ready which was a relief for Stephanie as her family hadn't had an opportunity to grill her on anything. Now she would hopefully get away from any difficult or awkward questions about what was going on between the two of them, if her Father hadn't shared that Paul was staying for good then she was quite happy to keep it quiet from the rest of her family so that they didn't jump to any conclusions about how serious the two of them were about each other.

In the process of helping herself to a couple of roast potatoes she promptly dropped the spoon when her brother spoke up, "So how long are you here for this time Paul?" All eyes turned to her due to her clumsy actions but they were soon trained back on Paul awaiting his answer.

For Paul he had no problem being honest with them, he had no problem telling anybody that he had moved back here and he would be honest if asked and tell them that Stephanie had a lot to do with it. "Oh you know, just forever."

"Forever?! I didn't even know that you were considering moving back here. Stephanie why did you not tell me any of this?" As a Mom she felt out of the loop in her own daughter's life, had she really neglected her that much?

Reaching for the carrots there was no real reason, apart from being so wrapped up in her boyfriend that she didn't even think about telling anybody that he had moved back. "He has only been back here for a couple of days, we really haven't spoken that much and it just never came up."

"It is probably my fault for that, I have taken up a lot of her free time because I only have one week off before I start setting up the new office with work so I have wanted to make the most of the time off and have been with her."

She didn't know if he was bailing her out because he was an amazing boyfriend or because he actually felt guilty for it but she was so grateful for him and she would show him exactly how grateful she was later. "It isn't his fault really, it is my own doing." Stephanie reached for her boyfriend's hand and squeezed it gently blushing a little when he turned to look at her and mouthed 'I love you'.

Linda wasn't sure if they thought that she was mad that she didn't know or if for some reason they were just apologising a lot but it was ridiculous. "I'm not mad at the two of you, you're grown adults and can do whatever the hell you like, I was just surprised that I didn't know a few weeks ago about it."

"That is because I didn't tell Stephanie. We fell out because as soon as I found out that move was happening I was so focussed on getting here as soon as I could that I actually ignored her. Luckily for me I have a really amazing girlfriend though and she forgave me, eventually." As her hand still remained covering his he raised his hand to press a kiss to the back of hers.

If it wasn't a meal that had a heavy involvement with knife and fork she would have shuffled closer to her boyfriend and leaned in to him for the rest of the meal but as it was she had to reluctantly remove her hand from his to eat. "Well Dad did help a lot with that but it was only because I am stubborn."

Shane couldn't help but snort at that, "Finally. How many years has it taken you for you to figure that out?"

She waited until he wasn't looking at her before she picked up a roast potato and threw it at his head, "Asshole."

She wanted to admonish her daughter but it was funny so Linda settled for staying quiet as her son sulked about the food being thrown at him and his wife preventing him for throwing something back at his sister.

Reaching across he pushed some hair behind his girlfriend's shoulder getting her attention, "No more throwing food at him okay?"

"But he's a jerk."

"He's your brother, it is his job. I'm sure Marissa will keep him in line though okay?"

She didn't want to ruin the day so sighing heavily she had to give in. "Fine, no more throwing food at him."

"Thank you." Paul leaned a little closer and pressed a kiss to her lips before he moved them to her ear, "I will reward you later for it."

A quick slap to his chest for teasing her and he was pulling back with a smirk on his face, her boyfriend was one evil man.

* * *

 _Two months later_

Stephanie was terrified as she looked at herself in the mirror, she had bought this new dress for tonight but she wasn't sure if it was too much. Tonight was a big night for Paul and she didn't want to let him down, she didn't want to be dressed inappropriately and for him to be embarrassed by her.

"You look beautiful."

Jumping at the sound of his voice she had forgotten that she had given him a key to her house and he was coming by to pick her up so they went together. She turned around to face him and smiled at how handsome he looked in his suit, "You look amazing. They're going to be so happy when they see you looking all fancy."

"And I'm going to be so happy walking in there with who I guarantee to be the most beautiful woman in the room on my arm." He closed the distance between them and moved her away from the mirror, "You look beautiful okay? You don't need to change."

"How did you know that was what I was thinking?" She was completely baffled by how he managed to read her mind like that.

"I know you. Steph you aren't friends with somebody for almost ten years without learning the little things about them and one of the things I have learned about you is that you don't do the whole staring at yourself in the mirror thing unless you are unsure about what you are wearing." Tonight was a huge night for him because it was the opening of the office and it was the first time that the other two owners were going to see it but also they had invited a load of current clients and potential clients along so they had some work on display and everybody was going to mingle and it was terrifying.

It seemed like her boyfriend knew her too well for her own good. "Okay fine, that was what I was thinking then. I just don't want to show you up okay?" Turning around she picked up one of the earrings from her vanity table and put it on before she did the same with the other one and then picked up her necklace to put on.

"You could never show me up." Taking hold of her hair he lifted it up to make it easier on her, "They are going to love you, you know Chris already likes you and everybody else will be wondering how on earth I got such a gorgeous woman on my arm for the evening and when they find out that you're my girlfriend they'll probably all faint."

Rolling her eyes at her boyfriend in the mirror she wasn't sure whether to slap him or kiss him. "You Sir are too much. We should go though because I don't want you to be late." With a quick spray of perfume she slipped on her shoes before she grabbed her jacket and bag from the bed and headed for the door just assuming that he was following behind.

His girlfriend was certainly testing him tonight but that was one of the things that he loved about her, sometimes. Quickly hurrying out of the bedroom he needed to catch her before she left him here.

Stood at the door with her keys in hand she smirked at him as he finally appeared, "Finally, I thought that you were never going to come down."

When his girlfriend teased him he could not let her get away with it so placing his hands on her hips he pulled her closer to him, "What has gotten in to you tonight?"

Her arms found their way around his neck and she held on to him, "Nothing at all. I mean it isn't like I want to get there quickly so that we can leave quickly and then you can find out what I am wearing under here."

A groan fell from his lips as he rested his forehead against hers, "I love you and I hate you right now."

"The feeling is mutual. Come on and let's get this over with."

Before they left he pressed a kiss to her lips, "I love you."

The touch of his hand gently stroking her cheek caused her eyes to slip closed, "I love you too Paul."

They took a moment together just the two of them before they left the house to go and experience the evening.

* * *

When they arrived at the office there were only a couple of people inside. Before they went inside he stopped his girlfriend, "All three of my bosses are supposed to be here tonight, when I left the office earlier the other two hadn't arrived but they are meant to be here by now obviously so just be aware that there will be three of them and not just Chris."

"It's fine, I'm not worried, unless you are?"

He was worried, not that she would say or do something to put his job in jeopardy but that they would hate the office. "Only that they will fire me for the job I've done."

"You'll be fine, come on." She took her boyfriend by the hand and led him towards the door.

The first person they saw when they entered the office was Chris which didn't feel like a good sign, "Anything I can do to help Chris?"

Pausing briefly he took a moment to give Stephanie a quick hug, "I'm so glad that you could make it Stephanie. Is your Dad coming also? As for if there is anything you can do Paul the answer would be no, it's all pretty set but thank you. Marvin is the only one who is here by the way, Lucas had to stay back in the office as one of the new interns completely fucked up a file and he has to fix it."

Paul almost wanted to jump for joy at that news, "That is unfortunate. I should go and seek him out and say hello, I'll be back in a second Stephanie." Kissing his girlfriend quickly on the cheek he made his way across the office to see if he could find Marvin.

* * *

The evening seemed to be going well and there seemed to be a number of compliments about the work on show which was great news and could lead to some potential contracts.

Stephanie was over at the table getting herself a new drink when she was approached by a female, "Hi, I know this is a weird and creepy thing to do but I noticed that you seem to be around the boss a lot. Do you work here?"

"It's okay. I don't work here, my boyfriend does and I have just come to accompany him and they did some work for my Dad so I'm supporting the company as a whole really. Why?"

"I'm just starting up a company, the first time going it alone, and I have been working with a graphic designer but he isn't listening to me, he is doing what he thinks I want so I thought if I was working with a female I may get what I want. Oh well, thanks and sorry for bothering you."

It wasn't her place to try to get them work but she felt bad for the woman so before she could walk away she gripped hold of her arm, "Hold up will you? I may not work here myself and you may consider me to be biased as my boyfriend works here but I promise they listen to what you want and will do as you want. When they first started working for my Dad I was the one working with them and they did exactly as I wanted so what is the harm in just getting a sketch from them?"

"Sure, there's no harm in that I guess." Fishing around in her bag she pulled out a card and handed it to Stephanie, "I have to run as I need to relieve the babysitter but have somebody call me tomorrow or whatever please."

"Will do. Thanks and I promise that you won't regret it." With card in hand she went to find Paul eventually spotting him talking to Chris and somebody else, she didn't intend to interrupt their conversation but when her boyfriend smiled at her she couldn't help herself, "Hi."

"Hey. Steph I want you to meet Marvin, Marvin this is my girlfriend Stephanie. I don't think you have crossed paths with each other yet."

"It's nice to meet you Stephanie."

"You too Marvin, thank you for letting Paul transfer out here, it really means a lot to me that you let him be closer to me. Who do I give a business card to for you to ring them to do a quote?"

Marvin couldn't help but watch Paul with Stephanie and smile, they were such a cute couple and so in love. "Honestly it worked out well for us all. We really wanted to start to train Paul up anyway so it was a win/win for us. Why and how do you have a business card?"

Blindly motioning to the other side of the room she also held up her drink, "I was getting myself a drink when a lady approached me wondering if I worked here. She is starting up her own company and is having problems with the graphic designer she currently has as he is doing his thing and not what she wants so wondered about working with a female. I told her that you would listen and do what she wants so she said to call her." She held the business card out towards Chris assuming that he would take it from her as he was the one mostly in charge.

Chris took the business card from her and put it in his pocket. "Thank you Stephanie, that was really nice of you to go out to bat for us like that. I will have Paul call her tomorrow because he is your boyfriend and she may respond to that."

* * *

For the next half an hour they continued to mingle before Paul had had enough. Once he had finished his conversation he moved to find his girlfriend relieved to find her just looking around rather than talking to somebody, "Hey."

She knew that voice immediately and it made her smile, "Hey you. Having a good evening?"

Sliding an arm around his girlfriend's waist he pulled her in to his side, "It was okay but now I'm ready to leave as I have to be back here in the morning. You ready?"

It felt like forever that she had been waiting to leave for but she knew that she couldn't leave until he was ready so those words were music to Stephanie's ears. "I am ready if you are. Are you dropping me home and leaving or staying for a little bit?"

Despite the teasing earlier it had been a long day for them both and he didn't want to push his luck. "I should just drop you off. As much as I would like to stay for a while you have work tomorrow and so do I so I shouldn't risk it but I will swing by whatever evening you want me to."

"Tomorrow?" She didn't really feel like she had seen him tonight so it would be nice to spend some time with him tomorrow. "How about we go out to dinner? We could manage that right?"

He would make anything happen if he was guaranteed getting to spend some quality time with his girlfriend, "I will make it happen. Come on though, let's say goodnight to Chris and Marvin and we'll get out of here." Taking her by the hand he led her across the room to find his bosses.


End file.
